Medieval Day Fantasy 8
by GoodGurl
Summary: chapter 16 The truth about Terris: ENDING EVERYONE! YEAY! The Queen and the Knight. Two lovers torn between loyalty and love. Warning: This is a Seiftis and a Zelphie! Please rr! Thanx!
1. Epilogue

Note: Hi everyone! What happened to all the Queifer fans out there? Hey, this is a whole new story! A Medieval one at that and I hope you all like it!  
  
  
  
  
Medieval Day Fantasy 8  
  
  
Chapter 1 - Epilogue   
  
  
  
The Queen and the Knight. Two lovers torn between loyalty and love.   
  
The Knight, captivated by her beauty and her strenght.   
  
The Queen, captivated by his loyalty and courage.   
  
There is only one true thing that could break the bond of loyalty.   
  
Love....  
  
  
  
  
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The dark quiet night blackens the land and the moon, with its mysterious, ethereal glow is the only light touching the Earth. Beyond the castle, up in the highest balcony, she stands alone. She stands poised with manner and style. Her long, golden hair flowed like silk behind her as the wind blew by, whispering her name. She never loved him. She never did. She only did what she thought was right. He was the Prince, she was the Princess. Her loyalty made her feel alone and neglected. Her loyalty divided her from what she has always dreamed of.   
  
She closed her eyes, as she felt, strong, warm arms wrapping around her waist. She felt warmth under his touch. No... she mustn't. She pulled away from him, turning her body around to face a tall figure. His rugged, handsome looks seem to penetrate through her mind. His stature made him look more than just a Knight. In fact, he seem to be born of royalty. His silver armor, thick and strong as it was meant to be, were molded into perfection upon his body to show his broad chest area and upon the right of his chest, an emblem of a Hawk gleamed to show his authority. His shoulders were weighed down with armory pads to protect them from attack and where a red cape was attached. The red cape itself flowed behind him, mimicking the silkiness of her golden hair.  
  
"We shan't," she whispered. She brushed a golden strand of hair from her face and looked upon his green eyes.   
  
He nodded. Knowing how much it pained him to let her go, he could not betray his King and his best friend. "You are right, your Highness. Betraying the King would mean betraying my friend." He turned around, towards the door where it was kept lock to keep himself from being known. He paused and glanced over his shoulder. "But, I will not stop loving you, my Queen. I will always care for you no matter what happens."   
  
Tears fell from her face. She did not know why. She knew what consequences she had to face. From the moment she saw him, she instantly fell in love. Her thoughts were on him day and night. Blankly, she took a step forward as he began to advance to the door. "Wait," she called to him, silently. She watched him pause. His blond hair, so golden and beautiful was like a magnet on her hands, forcing them to touch it, to feel his smooth tresses.   
  
Instantly, he gazed into her eyes, so blue and bright that he wished he could see them everyday. "Your Highness, what is it that you wish for me?" His tone of voice, lacking that soft texture that he once spoke to her disappeared, replacing them with a cold, commander-like tone.   
  
"Please, do not speak to me, that way," she spoke, taking another dangerous option to step forward towards him. She shook her head, knowing how much she despised his tone of voice as of now. Her face softened and as she was near, she lifted up a hand towards his face, to feel his warm skin. "I never said I never loved you, Seifer," she said. She moved closer to him, her lips close to his.   
  
Seifer sucked in a breath, taking a chance at moving closer to her, to her lips. There were no words spoken after then, as they met in a passionate kiss. He could not stand it. He wrapped his arms around her waist, their lips still locked in a loving kiss.   
  
Quistis did the same, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him with as much love as she could.   
  
Their love burned brighter than the moon out that night. Seifer guided her towards the bed and they landed softly and soundlessly together, their lips never leaving each other. That night, they declared their love for each other and that night, they knew they can never let go.  
  
  
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"Must you leave so early?" she spoke, watching him putting his armor as he sat on the edge of the bed. She watched from the other side of the bed, blanket covering her naked self. She sat up, wrapping the blanket around herself and crawled towards him across the bed. She coiled her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Please be well for me," she whispered in his ear.  
  
He smiled and stood up. He kneeled down to her eye level and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I will be well for you," he replied, pulling her closer to him. He kissed her forehead and then her lips. "I shall think of you so I will find my way when I am lost."  
  
She rested her head on his chest, tears falling from her eyes. "Promise me you will return to me, Zell," she whispered. "I will think of your safe return."  
  
He knew he could not promise her of his safe return, yet he agreed on her behalf. "I promise, Selphie," he replied. "I never break promises." True, he has never broken a promise from his girl friend before, but this time he must. He must for the sake of the Kingdom. He must for the sake of royalty.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Sorry Squinoa fans, but this is a Queifer and Zelphie only area. Squinoa did their big part on the game anyway, so these other couples should get a chance! Ciao! Please r/r! k? K! ;D 


	2. The Queen

Note: WOW! I never knew people would start liking my Medieval story. You have no idea how many times I changed it and now I came with that kind of conclusion. You guys are wondering who the King is? Well, the look on the past reveals him! Enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 2 - The Queen  
  
  
~Ten years ago~  
  
  
I was young, with a large imagination that only I alone could interpret. At a young age of ten, my dreams would have to be put off for awhile. My future was already decided for me, by my own mother.   
  
"Why?" I spoke in a small voice. She did not know what to think.   
  
"For it is what your father has decreed, my love," she whispered, curling a strand of blond hair behind my ear. "In order for you to claim heir to the throne once I am gone, you must marry someone of Royal birth, thus, the Prince of Galbadia."  
  
Galbadia.... the thought never crossed my mind. I did not want to marry anyone, especially a Galbadian Prince. Are they not Balamb's worst enemy? "Galbadia..." The words rolled off my tongue like fire, burning my mouth, as if it was a cursed thing. "Are we not their enemy?"  
  
My mother nodded, her beauty never fading away. Despite her sickness and her age, my mother had a bewitching beauty that never left her for thirty years. Long, flowing, golden hair matched my honey tresses. However, even with her resemblance with the little girl, Marna had the look of style and grace. Her eyes were the colour of violet and her skin, more ghostly white than myself.   
  
"Aye, we are their enemy," she replied, stroking my honey locks. "But this is your destiny, my Quistis. Your destiny is to bring our fueding worlds together. You and the Prince are destined to bring the two Kingdoms together by joining each other's hand in marriage."  
  
Destiny.... the word much more concerned to my mother than myself. I did not care about destiny. All I wanted now was freedom, but I loved my mother dearly and I would not dare defy her.   
  
Finally, what seemed like forever, I nodded and forced a smile on my face. My mother did not know the difference of my forced smile to my real smile.   
  
"Yes, mother," I replied finally. "I will see the Prince."  
  
Mother kissed my forehead. "You and him will have the privilege of knowing each other as you grow older. The more you meet, the more you know each other and more you know each other, the more you will find love with one another." She kissed my forehead once more before she stood on her feet. She left the room with no doubts in her mind, knowing I was loyal daughter, a loyal Princess and a loyal future Queen.   
  
I, my young soul deepening with loneliness in my heart, sat by the window, watching the night sky above. "The stars are brighter tonight," I said to myself. The stars danced above, their tail flowing behind them, like a flock of ballet dancers on the dance floor. I envied the stars. They were free to do whatever they wanted. Neither the moon, nor the sun tell them when to shine brighter. Their choice it was to shine brighter, to make them look beautiful in the sky, to light the path of the wandering lovers.   
  
Love.   
  
The thought of love made me ache. I would have to be forced to love this Prince Irvine. I would have to love him for the rest of my life. Although with my dreams of falling in love, they were shattered to millions of pieces.   
  
  
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The morning was soon alive. I properly dressed myself for the upcoming event. My hair was primped up in a bun, with beautiful beads all hanging at the ends of my hair. My dress, made especially for me by my mother's trusted handmaiden, Nune, fit perfectly upon my tiny waist. Pink silk adorned the back of my dress, flowing behind me like the bird's wings as I twirled around. My glass slippers, the most common item to wear on a little girl's feet were crystal clear, showing no signs of dust from the old Balamb Castle. I had begun to brush my hair, when someone knocked on the door unexpectedly.  
  
"Good morning, Your Highness!" a dark hair woman greeted, with a smile.  
  
I turned my head away from the mirror and gave the woman a wonderful grin. "Hello, Nune!" I answered, continuing to brush my long, golden hair. My brush, painted pink and flowery, was even adorned with sorts of jewelry to mark my Royal blood.   
  
"My Queen is awaiting for you at the carriage, Princess," Nune spoke, as she stood beside me, watching me unstrangle me hair with my brush.   
  
I looked at my mother's handmaiden at her reflection on the mirror and nodded, standing up. I turned towards Nune and smiled. "Am I fine, Nune?"  
  
Nune gazed at me up and down and nodded. "Yes, you are fine, Princess. There is nothing for you to worry about." She placed both her hands on my shoulder and gently guided me out the door. "Your mother is waiting for you."  
  
  
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The ride seemed out of Balamb short and calm. The road to Galbadia was an easy path to follow and all I could think about was meeting the Prince, wondering what he would be like. I never asked for this kind of meeting. I was just ten years old and I was about to meet my future husband.   
  
I watched outside, where the day was warm and quiet. The mountains were visible in front of me, with its hump like features and its bright green colour from the grass. The sun was shining through the window of the cart, forcing my eyes to squint slightly to see the plains.   
  
"My daughter, please be well for me," my mother spoke, underneath the tapping sound of the horses' hooves against the dry soil.  
  
I glanced at my mother, my back straight and stylish, like the Queen. My hands, clasped on my lap, seemed rigid and nervous, but I dared not show it. Instead, I forced a smile upon my face. "I am well for you, mother."  
  
My mother stared at me curiously. "I know you are not happy, my sweet, but it is for the best."  
  
I turned her eyes from the Queen and stared out the window. We were passing some peasants who were doing their best to take care of their crops. They were mostly women tending to the crops, picking up some vegetables they were growing in the fields and placing them in their baskets. They all looked up at the sound of a carriage and stared at the people inside. They knew the carriage. The obvious was the Royal Balamb emblem on the side of the wagon. I noticed that the men were on the other side of the field, guiding some horses in the pasture. I did not say anything, knowing how much it would paine me to speak or argue anymore.  
  
They were close to Galbadia for I could see the castle just up ahead.  
  
  
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"Marna! It is nice to see you!" the Queen of Galbadia spoke, embracing the younger woman with her long arms. She was a tall woman, I noticed, with long brown hair tied up into a bun. Buns were a familiar trend in all the Kingdoms. She was neither beautiful, nor unattractive, she was in between which she did not know the word to.   
  
"It is nice to meet you too, Amnaru!" Marna replied, returning the woman's embrace. They were friends for a long time, but ever since the war began, they have never spoken since. Their husbands were old rivals and never did they make amends with one another. "Is everything well?"  
  
"Everything is well, Marna! How about-" She paused at the sight of me standing beside the Queen. "Why, you must be Quistis! My, you are so pretty!"  
  
I blushed. "Hello, Queen Amnaru," I replied, giving the Queen a curtsey.  
  
Amnaru smiled, then glanced up at Marna. "The last time I met her was when she was just a wee little thing! Now, look at you!" The brown haired woman smiled again and glanced over her shoulder. "My son was just here somewhere." She fixed her gaze upon a woman, whom I had not noticed was there. "Where is he, Flora?"  
  
Flora, a woman dressed in a dress, told me she is the Royal handmaiden. I could not tell by the colour of hair, since it was covered with a hat that covered most of her head and behind her, which was attached to that same hat, flowed a purple silk-like tail that reached her waist, like a veil. She shook her head calmly. "I do not know, Your Highness. Prince Irvine must have run off somewhere with Martine's son."  
  
"Ahh, yes. Flora, will you fetch him for me?" Amnaru commanded, shaking her head. She turned around, facing the me and my mother and smiled, yet once again. "I apologize for this inconvenience. My son is good friends with Sir Martine's son, Seifer. They enjoy each other's company as you can see."  
  
I watched as Flora, the Handmaiden, turned and walked away from them, taking the orders the Queen had spoke of and disappeared behind the castle, as if she knew exactly where the boy was.  
  
"That is all right, Amnaru," Marna said, interrupting my thoughts.   
  
The brown haired Queen nodded. "Come. We will have tea while Flora fetches for Irvine." She turned around, followed by both my mother and I and lead them inside the castle.  
  
"May I look around for a while?" I spoke as we stepped inside the large room of the tea hall. I gazed up at the Queen and my mother, who were now seated on a small, round, white table in the middle of the room.   
  
"Quistis..." Marna spoke, eyeing suspiciously.  
  
Amnaru shook her head and smiled, turning her head towards Marna. "That is fine, Marna. I do not mind at all for her to look around and see." She looked at me and smiled. "You go ahead dear. Your mother and I will be here for a while and talk."  
  
I smiled and nodded slightly. I glanced at my puzzled mother, before leaving the area.   
  
Soon, I was walking along a silent hallway with many pictures hanging on each side of the wall. They were mainly pictures of the Queen's Royal family. I examined them for a while, before walking on, towards the darkened hallway. There was nothing much to see ahead of me. There was a large door due north, maybe the Queen's bedroom. Then I caught sight of something glimmering in the corner of my eye. Startled, I turned my head to the right and noticed a shadow move in the darkness in the corner of the wall. I did not know where it was, but a small hint of light from the sun as it peeked through the oval-shaped glass window made me see the same flicker I caught in the corner of my eye.  
  
"Hello?" I called weakly. I walked towards the flickering light, reaching out with my lithe arms. In spite of the light shining through the window, the hallway was too dark for me to see much. Taking another step, my hands felt something warm and soft when suddenly...  
  
"HEY!" the shadow yelled.  
  
Surprised, I fell on my rear and looked up. A little blond boy appeared from the shadows, looking down on me with scorn in his eyes. "What doing are you?!" the boy yelled. The boy, I noticed had soft, golden hair, close to mimicking mine and was quite taller than I.   
  
"ME?!" I fired back. How dare the boy speak to me that way! "You hide in the shadows and dare not tell me you are there?!" I stood up and stared at him defiantly. I planted both my hands on my hips and frowned.   
  
The blond boy smirked and began to walk away. "What, are you blind that you could not see me through the shadows? It is daylight still! How can you not?"   
  
I frowned, running after him. As I neared by his side, I glared at him. "I have not seen it because it was too dark! This hallway does not permit enough light!"  
  
The boy snorted and glanced at me walking beside him. "Enough light..." he grumbled. "The sunlight is enough for you!" He yelled, before storming off away from me.   
  
I could not believe what I was hearing! "Hmph! How dare you yell at me!" I hissed, catching up to him once more. I was not about to let him get away with him yelling at me like that! How dare he?!  
  
The boy stopped walking and turned towards me. "What are you still doing? Leave me be!"  
  
"I can not leave you until you apologize!" I commanded, folding my arms across my chest.   
  
"Apologize?!" The blond smirked and once again, walked away.  
  
I would not have that, however, as I caught up with him again. I was walking much too fast, for I was too upset to even care where I was going. How dare he speak to me that way, I thought to myself, glaring at him as I turned my head. "How dare you smirk at me! I command for an apology!" I said, placing a hand on his arm.  
  
The blond pushed it away, his eyes turning into thin slits as he glanced at me. "I will not apologize! Tis your doing!"  
  
"Doing?! I have done no wrong!" I spat, still walking by his side. This boy was definitely irritable.  
  
I did not know where I was going for I was too upset to look . Abruptly, I felt something hit my toe and I fell forward, hitting face first on the fresh grass. I felt someone help me up on my feet, as I spat grass from my mouth. Blankly, I looked up at the same blond boy who refused to apologize. Once I had gotten on my feet, I brushed the green markings from my dress and scowled at the green dirt that now scathed my dress. "No! My dress!" I said to myself, desperately brushing off the pieces of grass that glues itself on the dress.   
  
The boy rolled his eyes. "Come with me, I know a faster way to rid of that," he said. He lend out a hand to me. I was surprised at his reaction for my clumsiness. He did not laugh, nor make any rude comments towards me.   
  
I stared at his hand reluctantly and gazed up at his eyes. I still did not trust the boy. He was rude. I frowned and turned my head away from him. "I will not take your hand you-you rude being!" I could not leave untl I get an apology from him! The nerve of that boy!   
  
Suddenly, I felt something warm grasping my arm. I turned and saw him dragging me with him.  
  
"Hey! Let me go at once!" I protested, struggling to free myself from his grasp, which was to no avail. He began to drag me out of the courtyard and towards the horse stables. My eyes widened in surprise. "HEY! What are you to do with me? I am not entering that stable!"  
  
The blond jerked his head towards me. "Mind you, through the stables is the only way for you to get the stain from your dress. Is it not what you want?"  
  
Through the stables!? I shook my head and angrily shook away from him. "NO! I want you to apologize to me!"  
  
The blond rolled his eyes and sighed. "How, a Princess of your stature could be so temperamental and stubborn? I do not understand why the Queen chose you to be the Prince's wife."  
  
My face softened. "You... you know of me?"  
  
"Yes, I do. I saw your carriage out front." He leaned his back against a lonely tree by the stables and looked at me.   
  
I frowned. "If you know of me, why do you still act as if I am nothing but a- a peasant?" He knew all along! The boy had the nerve to be rude to me!  
  
"I do not believe in treating someone as Your Highness if you are just visiting here." He sat down and sighed. "I only respect my Queen and my Prince." He turned his head towards me. "You are a Princess, yes, but not MY Princess."  
  
I did not understand what he meant by that, however, I nodded as I sat down beside him. "Why were you hiding in the shadows?" I asked. I had an idea of why, but I wanted to hear from his own lips.  
  
All my anger, and his, as I guessed, faded away. Only a quiet sense of understanding surrounded us. Time seemed to have slowed down and gave us a chance to speak peace with each other, with words that calmed us both.  
  
"We are playing hide and seek. Tis a game my friend and I play amongst each other." I watched him sigh in content and I felt guilty for ruining the fun he had just now. I guess it was my fault and I guess I needed to be the one to apologize.  
  
"I am sorry." I looked around, no more words coming out from my mouth.  
  
The boy shrugged. "It does not matter. He will not find me anyhow," he chuckled.   
  
I laughed. Somehow, in a strange way, I felt comfortable around him. He had a nice laugh. "Why do you say that?" I questioned, looking at him.  
  
"I am, but of course, the son of Sir Martine the third and I know many places to hide!" the boy responded.  
  
"You must be the Prince's friend, are you not?"   
  
Seifer nodded. "Yes. I am Irvine's friend." He looked at me. "Have you met him yet?"  
  
I shook my head. "No, I have not."  
  
Seifer stood up and lend a hand towards me. "Princess, I think 'tis time for you to meet him. He is quite a fellow, if I do say so myself." He grinned down at me.  
  
I laughed and took his hand. I did not know why I began to trust him so suddenly, but I felt strange. Even for a young age like me, I felt that the feeling I was having was un-natural. Trust began to form in my eyes as he helped me up on my feet. "Quite a fellow, eh? Then, I can not wait to meet him."  
  
  
~six years later~  
  
  
I stared out the window. Another day of meeting the Prince. It has been far too long. I had to admite, I was quiet fond of the Prince, but in my mind, Irvine seemed too interested in what I looked like, rather than who I am in the inside.   
  
During the course of that same night I met Seifer, I had to stay with Irvine and talk to him, in order for me to get to know him better. When I met the Prince, I noticed he could not keep his eyes off of me. I would not know, however of who he is now or what his appearance is, so there was no reason for me to judge him. It was six years ago that they met, now I would have to see him for the last time before we get married. Yet, it was also during that night that I could not get my mind off of that one young blond boy. When I left the next day, I never saw the boy again.   
  
I pondered these events in my mind, until someone knocked on the door to my room."Princess, are you ready?" the same voice for the past six years spoke through the door.  
  
I nodded and stood up. "I am ready, Nune!" I replied.  
  
  
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It was odd coming back again. Not many has changed during our journey to Galbadia. The roads were still the same, which meant they had to take the same path to the castle. I watched people go by, the same people who farmed the lands. Women gathered fruits and vegetables, while the men continued their work on the fields.  
  
When we arrived, the greeting was the same as well, except for a few comments from the Queen of Galbadia, saying how beautiful I looked. I did not care at that point. Many people say these things to me and it was getting tiresome.   
  
"You simply look wonderful, Quistis!" the Queen spoke, giving the me a hug. She examined me with her purple eyes and smiled. I did not whether the smile was a smile of appreciation or desparation. I preferred not to care, but I had to pretend now for my mother's sake so as not to give Balamb a bad name.  
  
I smiled. "Thank you," I replied to the comment.  
  
"She is right..." a deep voice spoke.  
  
I glanced behind Amnaru, who moved out of the way to reveal a tall, handsome man with brown hair. His hair was tied up in a ponytail as he wore a Royal robe that made him look elegant. Irvine was the boy I remembered to be a trouble maker, along with his best friend. They terrorized my every moment. I almost did not wish to come today, however, it was a good thing I did. Irvine was to ber her future husband.   
  
"You simpy are beautiful!" He walked up to the me, took my hand and kissed the back of it with so much charm and poised that I could not help but blush. "And even for a pretty girl, you have a pretty blush!" Irvine said, grinning.   
  
I smiled. Pretend? No, it was definitely not pretend. It was a true smile that not even the Prince himself noticed was true. Maybe he knew that I never wanted to meet him in the first place. Even with the smile on my face, I felt something missing in the bottom of my heart. I had wanted to decide then, when the Prince's voice penetrated through my thoughts.   
  
"And a pretty smile!" Irvine added.  
  
"Your Highness, I think you are filling her with blushes," a second, voice spoke, more deeper this time.  
  
I glanced over Irvine's shoulder and spotted a handsome, blond walking towards them. Silver armor that perfected the look on his chest did I see on him. Metal shoulder pads could be seen from afar and a red cape flowed behind him. A long sword was kept inside its sheat at the side of his armor. I squinted my eyes more to see a Hawk emblem at the right of his chest. I did not recognize him. It was until he made it towards us did I finally see who it was. Seifer Almasy, grew up into a handsome young man indeed! I could not keep my eyes off of him.   
  
Seifer walked to me and bowed before me. "Hello, Your Highness. Tis wonderful to see you again," he greeted.  
  
I looked at him up and down. The last I remembered, Seifer was a small, little boy with freckles on his face. His front teeth were chipped from, preferrably eating too much candy, yet, as I looked upon him, he was not that little boy anymore. He had grown into a handsome young man with a height of six foot two. A Knight, as I could see.  
  
I nodded, acknowledging his presence. "Tis wonderful to see you too, Seifer."   
  
For one slow, moment, Seifer and I stared in each other's eyes, before the blond Knight turned to leave. I watched him go, with a feeling of sudden loneliness inside of me. I wanted him to stay, but I knew that he had some other duties to tend to as a Knight.  
  
I did not know what I was feeling. True, it might have been the infatuation of Seifer's handsome features, but it was something else. Seifer made me feel different somehow.   
  
~Present~  
  
He kissed my neck and then my lips. I loved this feeling. For a long time, I had dreamed of him, wanting him for myself without the presence of other women. The past came back to me for just a moment, remembering the time they first met. I loved him then, I love him now. How long shall we have to keep doing this? How long shall we keep decieving my husband and King?   
  
For me it did not matter. I longed for a love that was true. I ached for him every waking moment he strolled pass me. My passion was alive in my heart and I loved him. I loved him every day and every night. I thought of him through and through. I thought of him whether he was present or asbsent, or whether the King was there or not. There was no backing away from the love I felt for him. I never loved the King, never have. I loved my Knight more.   
  
I moaned as he went inside me, making me feel alive. He was my freedom. He was my breath and my life. He was everything to me.   
  
"My Queen," he murmured in my ears.  
  
I closed her eyes, feeling his breath against my skin. "My Knight," I whispered in response.  
  
A night of passion and love. A Queen and her Knight, two souls searching for the meaning of warmth and comfort, finally merged into one soul.   
  
'The stars are brighter tonight,' a little voice spoke in my mind.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Okay, that was quick, but I still liked it! I hope you liked it too! See ya! 


	3. The Knight

Note: That last chapter was a reminiscing in the past in Quistis' eyes, now it's Seifer's turn! I hope you enjoy this one! I know some of you were expecting Squall to be the King, believe me I wanted him to the be the King too, but he did not fit in the story. Irvine fit the story more. Sorry folks! Anyway, here is Seifer's POV!  
  
  
  
Chapter 3 - The Knight  
  
  
  
I had loved her since I first laid eyes on her. No, it was not when we were sixteen. It was way back when she first touched me in the arm that sent me shivering down my spine. Of course, I was only ten and I did not know the meaning of the word, 'Love.' But as I began to ponder the word in my thoughts and even risking asking my father for advice, I began to understand. I have never felt alive in my heart. I wanted to see her again.   
  
And thus, I did see her again. I was surprised at how she looked. We had not seen each other for six years and when I saw her the morning she arrived, I felt anger inside, knowing that my own best friend, the future King of Galbadia was to take her hand in marriage. I hated the Royal decree in marriage!  
  
I watched my Prince kiss her hand, wishing in my heart that it was I to kiss it. Brushing the thought away from my mind, I walked up to them and greeted them with a pun, not intended to sound too funny. I wanted him to see how angry I was, but I knew I could not do that to my Prince and my best friend.  
  
"Your Highness I think you are filling her with blushes," I spoke, taking away the scorn in my voice. I watched her turn her head. Oh how beautiful she looked, with her sun shining her golden hair, making her look radiant. She had changed a lot through the years, I noticed. My mind kept replaying back to the time I met her. She was just a little girl with long blond hair, longer than what she had now, with freckles, barely visible on her face. He felt bad then when Irvine teased her when they were children, but that was Irvine. He enjoyed the life of teasing people, but Irvine was a man now, a man loving the company of women. That thought made him feel odd. Irvine was a ladies' man for a Prince, which reminds him of King Alron, Irvine's deceased father. He was a man who loved women as well. Maybe he even slept with some of the Queen's handmaiden. No, he did not want to think of the Prince that way.  
  
I walked to them and I notice her looking at me. I wanted her to look at me that way. My heart soared when her blue eyes scanned me up and down, examining me as I looked then and as I look now. I could tell by the way she looked that she was surprised of how I had become.  
  
"Hello, Your Higness. Tis wonderful to see you again." I bowed towards her, a gesture of greeting towards her.   
  
"Tis wonderful to see you too, Seifer," she replied. I looked up and smiled, nodding my head on her reply.  
  
  
****************  
  
That night, we had our dinner together as adults. I felt out of place somehow, knowing I was not part of this soon-to-be 'Royal' family. I missed my father terribly. He was the reason that I became a Knight. He trained with me, made me the best swordsman in the land and cared for me like a father should.   
  
I put the fork down on the plate, sighing in content. Suddenly, I had lost my appetite.  
  
"Sir Seifer, is something the matter?" I looked up and noticed everyone staring at me. I cleared my throat, forcing a smile on my face. I nodded in response.  
  
"I am fine, Your Highness," I replied to Queen Amnaru.   
  
Amnaru eyes me suspiciously. "Are you certain of that? You seem blue in the face."  
  
I suddenly felt myself blush. They kept their eyes focused on me. Why could not they keep eating and not worry too much about me? I was a Knight for Heaven's sake! I am not allowed to feel sick or blue in the face. I shook my head and nodded slightly.   
  
"I am fine, Your Highness. Do not worry too much about me." I forked a small meat from my plate and lifted it inside my mouth, chewing it to taste its juicy core. The two Queens gave me one last glance, before turning each other to finish their conversation.   
  
I paused. Suddenly, the meat lost its taste. I did not want to look obvious. I glanced at the Princess and the Prince, who were too busy talking amongst each other. I watched the Princess smile. Her smile kept melting my heart, wishing it was I who made her smile. Wishing it was I who kissed her hand or the one who took her hand and led her somewhere beautiful.  
  
  
****************   
  
That night, the Princess retired in her quarters, opposite of Queen Marna. I decided to go for a short walk around the castle, scanning for any monsters that might have made its way inside. When I found none, I went to the front entrance and leaned against the tree where I first began to speak with the Princess. I never sleep at night, but tonight, I felt I needed to somehow. I was prepared to close my eyes to sleep, when I heard a noise inside the horse stables. Alarmed, I unsheathed my sword and carefully walked towards the stables. I could see shadows moving inside, yet I was not certain what or who it was.   
  
As I was close enough, I noticed someone's back facing me. The thief was holding the horse's reigns and placing the saddle on the horse's back. Quickly, I moved towards him and wrapped an arm around him, the sharp end of the sword closely linked to his throat. I must have surprised the intruder greatly for I noticed him gasp under his breath.   
  
"Thief! You dare steal Queen Marna's Royal horse?!" I whispered in his ear. I noticed he was wearing a hood over his head, yet I did not care then who he was as long as I had him. I did not see, however, the sword in his hand. I was prepared to defend myself from that weapon, when something hard hit me straight across my stomach. It served me right for removing my armor. I backed away, clutching at the pain inflicted upon me and stared up at the intruder in surprise.   
  
The thief turned around, finally revealing himself to me. He had his own sword pointed towards me, ready to strike me with his weapon. To my surprise, he was not a man. He was a woman. And I was even more surprised when I noticed that it was the Princess herself. When she noticed it was I who had captured her, her face softened quicker than she replaced her sword in its sheath.   
  
"Princess? What in heaven's name-?" I could not speak, for I was flabberghasted by her handling with the sword. She would not have hesitated to strike me at that moment and if I made one mistake, she would have cut me across the stomach.   
  
She did not speak, instead she took it upon herself to jump on the horse's back and stare back at me with her ocean eyes before she finally told me her reasoning of being out in the stables in the middle of the night. She gave me a smile that made me wonder of her tactics. "Sir Seifer, if you intend to stop me, then I will not hesitate to fight against you. However, if you do not wish to stop me, then I suggest you back away now and let me be."  
  
Despite the coldness of her voice, I did not move from where I stood. I stared up at her with a look of defiance. I shook my head slowly, knowing it was my duty to protect her from danger. "I am sorry, Your Highness, I am afraid I shall not let you pass."  
  
"You stubborn-!" I could see the anger on her face as she jumped down from the horse and let her sword out from her side. I could not understand what made her feel she wanted to go out at night without anyone's consent. "Very well, if you wish to stop me, then you have no choice but to fight me. En garde!" She placed a hand behind her back and placed one foot in front of the other, then positioned herself in a fighting stance, much like fencing men do in their spare time. I was surprised at her desperation to leave the palace and was surprised even more with her knowledge to fight. I guess I have no choice.   
  
"I, the stubborn one, Princess?" I spoke, with certain mockery in my voice. It seems she wanted to be treated a commoner all along and only I could see the truth to her reasons. I shook my head in disbelief. I straightened my back and placed a hand behind my back, then gripped tightly on my sword. Lifting up the sword to my eye level, I pointed it towards the direction of the readied Princess. "If you wish to fight me, then I say you make the first move."  
  
"I? I did not ask for this! You, you stubborn Knight, wished to fight me!" Quistis replied, with a whisper, as to make sure no one would hear. She charged at me with full speed, arms raised over her head and the sword ready to strike me down. I easily dodged that attack, making no attempt to strike back at her. I did not wish to hurt her. She was being foolish herself. I could not understand why this woman was in my mind day and night. I turned to see her fall on her knees, as if the battle had already won, yet, she did not give up. She stood up and ran at me once again, her sword brandished high above her head. She brought down the sharp end of the sword towards me, only to feel my own sword against her stomach. She paused halfway, her arms raised high and stared down at the weapon pointed directly to her stomach. She stared back at me and gave me a puzzled look.  
  
"There are certain things a sword man shall not do when charging towards the enemy. Never open yourself up to the enemy when you are attacking." I put my sword down and stared at her, waiting for her reply.  
  
She did not.  
  
"Princess, why do you wish to leave? Are you not happy here?"  
  
The Princess did not answer. She put her arms down, replaced her sword back in its sheath and leaned down on the soft hay behind her. The stable was much too small for only two people, so her feet almost touched mine as she sat. The door too was much too small for I blocked every gap of it, enabling anyone to get through.   
  
"Princess, I wish nothing more of your happiness. Do you not trust me anymore? It is I, Seifer, the boy you met all those years ago." I sat down beside her and forced a smile on my face. "Have you lost your trust to me?"  
  
Quistis shook her head. She stared back at me with her ocean blue eyes. "I have not lost my trust in you, Seifer..." She paused and turned away from me. "And I do not wish to leave forever from this place. I only wish to see the world the last time before I am chained forever in this castle."  
  
I knew her answer. She was not happy after all. I wanted to say more, but she spoke before I had the chance to.  
  
"I am envious of you, Sir Seifer. You are free to leave the castle as much as you like, while I... I am forbidden to do so. I am forbidden to see the outside world, step on the green grass and feel the water from the rain pouring down my face."  
  
I shook my head. Why speak such words? "You are mistaken. I am a Knight, Princess. I have my duties as one to stay in the castle and protect the Kingdom of Galbadia. I do not leave the castle. You speak of the townspeople. Yes, they are free to roam the lands as they wish, but they envy you."  
  
She looked at me, curiously. "Why would they envy me?"  
  
"You have all the wealth and the power to control the Kingdom of Balamb and soon, you will have the wealth and power of Galbadia as well. The townspeople struggle in life. They have to work hard to provide for their family. Some die of famine and some die of thirst. Some live a life as peasants, working day and night to protect their crops for food. They only wish nothing but to be in the castle and become of Royal birth."  
  
Quistis stared at me, I could tell from the corner of my eye. I stared out into the opposite window, staring blankly at me from behind her, where the moon glared at me with its bright light. "I was lucky, Princess. I was lucky enough to be pulled away from that struggle in life. I worked hard, day and night to become a Knight like my father. My father and I were pulled from that famine and the thirst. When my mother died, we did not know what to do. My father was too young then. He was only eighteen when I was born and he had no skills in sword fighting. He worked hard, no sleep and no play. The only way to get away from the struggle was for him to become a Knight, where he could get paid a reasonable price so he could provide food for both of us. His determination turned him into a Knight and he became the most trusted Knight ever since. Now, I want to follow in his footsteps."  
  
"You speak of truth, Sir Seifer," Quistis spoke, as I turned to look at her. "Yes, you struggled in life. Common folks struggle in life, yet there is one thing that they have that I do not have."  
  
I looked at her, waiting for her answer.  
  
"Happiness. They have happiness...." She did not speak after that, as she stood up and frowned. "I best go to bed, then. I have no choice. I will return to my quarters and rest." She walked towards the door, which I was blocking with my body and looked at me. "I assure you, Seifer that I will stay. For tomorrow night... tomorrow night will be the end of my freedom."  
  
I moved away from the door, as she walked out of the stables. I did not understand what she meant about 'happiness' or the 'end of her freedom.' Happiness? Common people do not have happiness if they have weary hands from work and wake up in the morning, only to hear their children crying for food. Is that what she defines happiness? What does she mean 'the end of her freedom?' She has freedom, of course. She is neither chained nor bound in prison.   
  
Shaking my thoughts away from my mind, I watched her open the castle door and enter her room, which was close to the ground so the other guards could watch over her. Her forlorn face could be visible, even from far away. I watched her form disappear from behind the curtain and that is when I knew she had gone back to bed.   
  
  
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~Present~  
  
"I will make you happy, my Queen," I whispered in her ear. To me, she was the one who made me happy. I have never felt this way before. I watch her every day and every night, my heart breaking into pieces, knowing I could not have her. I have betrayed my King, my friend, my saviour. There is no turning back from this sin. I loved her. I loved her too much to let her go. I will never let her go.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: GRRR!!! Stupid computer of mine, wouldn't let me inside Fanfiction for the longest time. Hey! This is Seifer's POV! I hope you like! Please r/r! Thanx!!!!!!!!! 


	4. The Soldier

Author's note: Awww.... thank you so much for the reviews, eventhough it was fairly small, but I still liked reading it! Hey, I know many of you are expecting a Queifer, but this is also a Zelphie fic, so... here is the first POV and it has something to do with a certain blond martial artists who doesn't use his fists as a weapon! I mean... come on! This is a Medieval era!  
  
  
  
Chapter 4 - The Soldier  
  
  
I wanted to stay with her, embrace her forever and ask her to marry me, but I was not ready to do that. I was not ready until I made sure that my work was done. I still have my duties. I fell in love with her the first time we raided through Galbadia that one warm afternoon when the leaves began to fall from the trees. The wind bit at the sides of my cheek as we marched along the marshes and noticed the tall castle just ahead of us. We were some twenty thousand men, each willing to die for the sake of Esthar's freedom. For a long time, we have been imprisoned in the greed of Galbadia and now that Balamb was on their side, we all knew we had to fight more desperately this time. I was not surprised, however the probability of Balamb and Galbadia joining them. I knew for a long time that sooner or later, Balamb had no other way to promote peace, other than have Princess Quistis and Prince Irvine marry at such a young age. Duke Squall of Esthar, after the death of his father, became the most powerful ally of Balamb, yet, ever since the death of the King and the increasing power of Galbadia with their advanced weapons and artillery, Esthar became Balamb's most powerful enemy. We felt betrayed by Balamb. The Duke felt betrayed by Balamb.   
  
At that moment, we had arrived through the marshes and raided through the castle, taking no prisoners. The joint castles of Balbadia (which was once Balamb and Galbadia), were left with no soldiers to fight them. They were all back in the marshes, fighting our other men who had appeared. I, the highest ranking soldier of Esthar, had a mission. My only job was to march unto the throne and take the Queen, take her back to Esthar and make her sign a treaty that will make Balamb into an independent nation once again and make them our allies. Balamb had the right resources in weapons and armor, therefore, we wished for them to be our allies. Esthar was running out of weapons to protect the Kingdom. Galbadia plans on crushing the Power Kingdom and making the Kingdom their own. King Irvine was corrupted by greed and power and the only way to stop this, was to have the Queen sign the decree.   
  
I ran through the long hallway of Balbadia, making turns as I go, knowing my mistakes. Yet, at that point, I felt I had no reason to hurry. I wanted to see what Balbadia was like, to make sure that what Esthar's words of King Irvine being a corrupted monster, were true. I turned left and ended up in the kitchen, where I spotted a young woman in a long yellow dress and with short brown hair sitting on a chair. When she noticed me, she quickly dropped the cloth from her hands and kneeled down behind the table, her head peeking out slightly to see me from behind. Fear suddenly struck her beautiful face.  
  
"Please sir, I beg of you to have mercy on me," she spoke, with softness in her voice.  
  
I stared at her, shaking my head. I do not intend to hurt her. I never wish for it. My only mission was to have the paper signed for the Queen and then I would be off. The men whom I was forced to work with, men with so much brutality and anger in their minds, were the men who were assigned to destroy anyone in their path. "I do not wish to hurt you." I looked at her, who was still crouched behind the table, her eyes full of fear and resentment. "But if you intend to leave, then you best do it now." I never meant to make myself sound threatening. I only wanted what was best for her. If one of my men come inside of where I was and once they see this woman there, they will come after her. No, I could not have that. I did no agree to this kind of atrocity. Surely, the Duke did not wish for this murder to occur. The men were becoming bastards of their own free will.   
  
She glanced at me, unsure whether to trust me or not. Either way, we were still enemies. It seemed forever did we stare at each other in the eyes, making sure the other did not make the wrong move. When one of us decided to speak, Commander Saffron came calling to me. I glanced over my shoulder, noticing a shadow nearby and I knew I had to do something fast. Commander Saffron, loyal or not, was a monster all on his own. I did not agree to this, but I had to pretend in order to keep the only occupation that was best suited for me. If I lost my rank, I would lose my job; the only job that made me who I am today. I glanced at the woman, her eyes widening in fear. I quickly ran to her, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with me out the other door, making sure my footsteps were as quiet as possible. We ended up inside the food storage, our bodies almost touching. I put my finger to my lips to shush her and she immediately obeyed. I jerked my head towards the door, hearing loud footsteps enter the kitchen.   
  
"Zell? Zell, where are you?" I heard a grunt and the footsteps fading. Peering through the small crack of the wall, I saw nothing but light. I glanced at the woman in front of me and nodded, opening the door once again. I lead the woman out the storage and back to the kitchen, keeping my eyes on the door to make sure none of my other men saw anything suspicious.   
  
"Why-? Why did you help me?" the woman questioned, staring up at me.  
  
I shook my head, sighing tiredly. "I'm tired of this war," I simply replied. "You must flee, before my Commander sees you."  
  
"Thank you," the woman retorted. I felt a small, gentle hand touch my arm. I glanced over my shoulder and turned completely around to face her.   
  
"What is it that you need?" I asked, with a touch of irritation in my voice.  
  
She walked to me, wrapping her arms around my neck, much to my surprise and kissed me gently on the lips. The kiss was slight, yet very real. I had never felt a tingle on my neck before.   
  
"Thank you," she repeated in a whisper. She pulled quickly away from me, giving me a smile before she turned and fled. I brushed my finger to the spot where she kissed me. I could still imagine her soft, warm lips touching my own.   
  
That day, I had never forgotten. That day, all my duties were washed away by the rain that poured endlessly after the mission was completed.  
  
  
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"Zell," a deep voice spoke behind me. Removing my eyes from my sword that I held in my hand, I turned to see the Duke of Esthar strolling towards me. I stood up quickly, giving him a bow and a slight grin forming on my lips.   
  
"Yes, sir?" The Duke was the same age as mine, yet he stood as if he was higher than everyone else. He was slightly taller than I, with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Sometimes, the Duke was the most heartless man you could ever encounter, his personality as cold as the winter day, yet, deep downn inside, Duke Squall of Esthar, was a man you can count on. Even with the most coldness of his voice, Duke Leonhart had the heart of a courageous hero.   
  
"I have been searching for you," he spoke, staring at me.   
  
I nodded. "I am sorry, Your Highness," I apologized, laying down my sword on the cold stone beside me. "I had personal matters to take care of." In my mind, I imagined him knowing where I have been and sending his soldiers to cut my head. Selphie Tilmitt was in my mind every waking moment of my life. I knew that I have sinned for falling in love with Esthar's worst enemy. However, I had made my choice. I must not remember the woman. I must not picture her smile, her face and her energetic personality. I could not... I must forget.  
  
  
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That night, I laid in my quarters, trying desperately to wash away all my thoughts on her. Yet, with every breath that I take and every moment that I am awake, I see her in my mind. I feel her in my touch and I sense her presence, like a ghost, eventhough she had not died. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to sleep and forget about her and when I was ready to sleep forever, a slight tap on the window interrupted me from my close slumber.   
  
I sat up from bed quickly and looked out the window. I was shocked, no... frightened even to see Selphie standing out the window and staring at me with sadness in her face. I wanted to stay in bed and leave refuse to let her inside, yet as I looked at her, I felt I needed to. No... I wanted to. I loved her. Walking slowly towards the window, I unlocked it and waited for Selphie to step inside. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my chest, her tears soaking my tunic.  
  
"Selphie? What is the matter?" I whispered in her ear, closing the window cautiously.  
  
Selphie looked up from her tears and smiled. "Nothing... I just missed you so."  
  
I could not lie to her anymore. "Selphie... we mustn't."  
  
"Must not? What are you saying?"  
  
I stared in her eyes and frowned. "You travelled this far to be with me. You could have been seen by the Estharian soldiers and could have been mistaken as a soldier and could have been killed instantly with the arrows. How foolish are you?" I stepped away from her, turning my eyes away from her hurt expression. "I do not wish to be the reason that you are in danger."  
  
Selphie shook her head. "You have not caused me this danger, Zell. There is no danger for me." She attempted to wrap her arms around me again, but I pushed it away and stared at her, with a serious expression.  
  
"No, Selphie. We must not. You and I are enemies."  
  
"Enemies?"  
  
"Yes. You are a Balbadian and I am an Estharian. We do not belong together." I could not look at her, for I knew I had hurt her so. I clenched my fists in anger. "You must leave now before they find you."  
  
"It does not matter if we are enemies or not. We love each other." She placed a hand on my face, yet, I slapped it away from me. My action surprised her and I was able to see her hurtful look, the tears in her eyes and the redness on her face. She stepped away from me, her face so full of disbelief. "How-? Why are you doing this? I came all the way here to be with you. You left without a word and I was worried that something must have happened."  
  
"Well, nothing happened!" I screamed, glaring at her. My heart was sinking fast. Her face was full of so much pain and loss. "I am here, alive and well. There is no reason for you to be here, now leave!" I pointed out the window.  
  
She stared at me, more tears falling on her porcelain face. She closed her eyes and nodded, knowing my reason of throwing her out of my life. She knew. Yes, she knew. "Your duty is more important than myself... I understand now," she spoke softly. She turned towards the window and, taking one more hurtful glance towards me, she opened the window and stepped out of my life forever.  
  
I closed the window quickly, watching as she disappeared into the forest, praying with all my heart that she will return to the castle safe. What have I done? My heart truly belonged to her. My love was truly meant for her, yet, try as hard as I could, I could not bring myself to run after her. I could not... I was too frightened.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Man, that was sooo sad! I couldn't believe I wrote something sad for them! I hope you all like this! Please r/r! Thanx!!!!!!!!!!! ;) Hm.... could it really be Zell's duty as the Duke's soldier or is he frightened of the committment? Some guys may say... he's afraid of the committment... but... who knows? It could be both! 


	5. The Handmaiden

Note: Sorry for the long wait. Stupid XP! Anyway.... Here is another story of that wonderful fic... yeah right.... Anyway, this is... well, you can probably guess who it is, since I already did Zell. Well, here it is!  
  
  
Chapter 5 - The Handmaiden  
  
  
I do now know how much time I spent weeping over the man whom I thought I loved. It felt as though he had took half of my heart and fed it into darkness. I felt so lost and confused, not knowing what had happened. Why did he turn me away? For a long time, I believed in every word he spoke of me, that he loved me, but my doubts were confirmed on that night. I cried in my sleep and when I thought of him in the morning, my tears were still heavily falling upon my cheek. I could not confront the Queen. She has been my good friend ever since I can remember and she has always been there for me. I have always called for her, asked for her advice, even though it was my responsibility to watch over her. However, no matter how hard I called, I could not open my mouth to call her name. She could not help me now.   
  
I was ready to walk out of my room and tend to my Queen and to take my mind off of him, when I heard my Queen's voice speak behind me.   
  
"Selphie," she called. I turned, slightly startled by her voice so nearby and smiled, bowing my head out of respect. It has always been that way, even though she was my closest friend out of that womanizer, husband of hers. I could not understand how King Irvine could stay King and husband to the most loyal Queen when he is with a girl.   
  
"Yes, Your Highness?" I looked up to wait for her answer.  
  
"I have missed you during dinner time last night. I wondered if you were fine."  
  
I shook my head, hoping she would not see the tears that once clouded my eyes in which I wiped away quickly. I wished I had not gone out that night just to see him. If I knew what he thought, I would never have felt as hurt as I was then. "I am fine, Your Highness."   
  
The Queen walked up to me, examining me carefully with her blue eyes. I did the same, keeping my eyes away from her, to avoid eye contact with her. If I did, she would know that I have been teary-eyed throughout that night. She knew me too well. I have been her loyal handmaiden for a long time.   
  
I shook my head gently once more and smiled, hiding away all the pain and the loss that I felt during my escapade earlier. I turned and walked away, excusing myself to leave the room. I could feel her watching me as I left. More tears suddenly streamed down my cheeks as I closed the door behind me.  
  
  
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"Selphie..." I closed my eyes and I imagined him here, holding my hand, whispering in my ear that everything will be well. I wanted to believe it so. I wished for him to be near and comfort me when I needed to be. It felt as though he was here, wiping away the tears which he resented so. Yet, as I opened my eyes, I only noticed myself, the bed and a mirror glaring back at me with its reflected shadows.   
  
"Selphie, please speak to me." I could not hear. I do no wish to hear him. I wanted him to leave me be after the pain he has caused me. I felt soft hands resting on my cheek, forcing me to turn towards the voice.   
  
"Selphie... You are the only person I have ever loved, never forget that." I felt his warm breath on my skin and I wanted nothing more than to be with him, to touch him forever and claim him as mine.   
  
Finally, I turned and saw him, watching me with his green eyes that mimicked my own. I wanted to smile, but I could not. He seemed to have noticed I was displeased with him here, yet he did not stand on his feet and turn away. He continued to lean towards me, giving me a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. I loved his touch. I wanted him so. I wish I could claim him. I wish I was more than just a handmaiden. Maybe he would love me if I was not. Maybe he would love me if I was a Princess or the Duchess of Esthar. However, try as hard as I could, I was neither one of them.   
  
"Zell... would it have been different if I was the Princess or the Duchess?" I asked. I wanted to know what he wished from a woman.   
  
I could see him from the corner of my eye, shaking his head. My heart soared once, knowing he wished nothing more of me than myself.   
  
"Selphie..." He laid beside me on the bed and rested his head upon my shoulder, kissing my cheeks with comfort. He wrapped an arm around me to warm me with his body and smiled. "Yes. I would rather have you being yourself, than a Princess or a Duchess."  
  
I smiled. "Why, Zell? Why did you hurt me so?" I could not turn and look at him in the eyes. I was still too hurt to look at him.  
  
"Selphie... I am the soldier of Esthar and I am the bastard who hurt you so. I was frightened. I was frightened that if I love you, I would lose you." He kissed me so gently upon my lips, in which he had to lift himself up almost over me to press his lips against mine. I could not take it, as I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck as he towered over top of me.   
  
"Afraid? You will never lose me, Zell. If you love me, you will only keep me, not lose me." I kissed him, our lips meeting into a passion that flared like fire through her bodies. I loved him and he loved me. That was all that mattered.   
  
"Then, I shall keep you, claim you as my own." He removed one arm from around me and reached inside the pocket of his tunic. I watched him curiously, wondering what he was up to and the moment I noticed the ring in his palms, I knew what he was asking. My eyes bloomed like wildflowers. He showed it to me, as if teasing me in some way as I watched in desperation. "Will you do me the honour, Selphie, Queen Quistis' handmaiden of Balbadia Castle, of being my wife?"   
  
I could not express my happiness, except by tears. I was happy and that was all that mattered. I nodded, smiling in complete silence.   
  
He smiled as well, pressing the round, gold metal inside my middle finger and kissed me lovingly on the lips. "You shall be mine," he whispered in my ear.  
  
I pulled him closer to me and watched the ring from behind him, glitter underneath the moonlight. "What of your oath as a soldier of Esthar?" I whispered to him.  
  
He shook his head. "They will never know. My love for you is all that matters to me, Selphie."   
  
Tears soaked my already wet skin, falling upon the sheets of the bed. I was happy there. I wanted to stay in his arms forever and forget about the argument earlier. I want to run away with him.   
  
As if he had read my thoughts, Zell pulled away from me and looked at me straight in the eyes. "Will you run with me?"  
  
I looked at him in disbelief. "Run away?"  
  
"Yes. We will start a new life together."  
  
I furrowed my eyebrows, not knowing what to answer. I could not run away. My whole life has been devoted to this castle, to my Queen. What about Zell? Does he not need the life of a soldier to survive? I promised my mother to watch over Quistis. I promised her I would fulfill the duty that my mother could not finish. She had died before I had a chance to say good bye.   
  
"But..." I looked at him. "I can not."  
  
"Why not?" He gazed up at me, hurt beyond belief. I did not wish to hurt him. He had come all this way to see me and to ask my hand in marriage, much the same as I did to him. I came to him unexpectedly and was turned down tragically. I was beginning to understand why.   
  
"Zell... you asked me to leave the only place I have ever known, the only place where I learned to live. I can not leave it."   
  
Zell removed himself off of me and turned away, staring at the bright, shining sphere out the window, in deep thought. I crawled to him, attempting to wrap my arms around his body, yet, he slapped it away. It felt as though I had felt it before, just like what he had done when I came to see him.   
  
"I love you, Zell, but can we not stay and live a new life in the town?" I could not believe what I just heard myself speak of. I was being foolish to ask him such a question.   
  
"Selphie... this town is not mine and Esthar is neither yours. How can I live in a town where everyone knows of me as Balbadia's worst enemy or you as Esthar's worst enemy?"  
  
"But, I can not leave the only place I have known. I promised my mother I would protect my Queen."  
  
Zell stood up and opened the window to my bedroom. "Then, I believe your duties are as important as I. Good bye, Selphie."   
  
I wanted to run to him, to beg him to stay, yet my legs were too frightened to move. I could not see myself run to him. I just watched him jump from my window and disappear into the darkness. I just watched him from me as I glanced at the ring upon my finger and watched the moonlight fade away from its reflection.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Urck! Eh... to all those 'Beating Hearts' fans with the Zelphie... don't worry, it's not going to be one tragic thing. Somehow, this problem will be resolved. Anyway, on to Chapter 5... um.. well, I just hope more people will review this. I like it actually. Just like Queifer in 'Beating Hearts', there is a sudden reversal of roles. 


	6. Decisions

Note: Hi all! Sorry for the long wait. I've been busy lately. Anyway, here is the 6th chapter of that unbelievable story (look at me exaggerate). We go back to the third person now. No more first person anymore so... enjoy! I may switch from first person to third person so... just... yeah... enjoy again!   
  
  
  
Chapter 6 - Decisions  
  
  
  
The young woman stared out the window, thinking and knowing the consequences she will have to face when he returns. She had broken down her loyalty to the King, thus, following her own path to her heart. The night, filled with love and passion took her breath away, flying into the distant ocean towards the sun. She flew higher than the birds above the clouds and she has never felt so free. Caged for three years, the Queen was finally released from behind bars by her hero-her knight.   
  
"He will return soon," she spoke, watching the sunlight burst into play around her golden tresses. She felt strong arms wrapped around her waist and she took the opportunity to rest her head against his chest. "My love, what will become of us?"  
  
Seifer embraced her as tight as he could, never wishing to let her go. He has been pretending to be a Knight, pretending that he never loved her, all for the sake of loyalty. All this time he had, yet his loyalty kept him from going any further. He will always love her. "My love for you burns brighter than the sun. Nothing will keep us apart, my Queen. I have waited far too long for this," he whispered in her ear. "I will go to the ends of the earth to be with you and I will protect you with all my life."  
  
The Queen brightened at his thoughtful words. "Please, no formalities, my Knight." She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. She rested her forehead against his and they stayed that way throughout the morning.  
  
  
****************  
  
That afternoon, when the sun fully peeked from behind the mountains, Quistis stepped out into the balcony once again, feeling the warm wind whisper against her cheek. New had been spread that the King had been injured during battle. Seifer had to leave her for awhile to retrieve the fallen King and bring him back to the castle where he belongs and to his wife.... Those words echoed in the Queen's ears. She knew now that she must tell the King the truth about her love affair with the Knight. However, she was not ready. She will tell him sooner or later.   
  
The sound of the horses' hooves startled her from her thoughts and she looked down from the balcony to see a single horse trotting towards the castle in the distance. She regarded the shining metal of her Knight and a white robe with blood upon it, as if it had been put there for a reason, woven around the King. The Knight walked alongside the horse, while keeping the injured King on the stallion. Quistis' eyes widened in horror at the condition of her husband. She ran out of her room to meet the two men into the courtyard.   
  
"Irvine!!" she yelled, running towards the horse. The King, his face rested upon the back of the horse, lifted up his head to see who had called him and smiled slightly at his beautiful wife running to him, carrying the front of her dress alongside her.   
  
"Quistis..." Irvine murmured, lifting up a tired arm at her.  
  
Quistis felt something broken in her heart. The King was injured and her wife, her Queen, had betrayed him. One bad news was enough for the King today. She will have to purse her lips together to keep the burden from him. She placed a hand on his injured back and frowned, glancing back at Seifer for an explanation and wishing at the same time Seifer could comfort her with an embrace.  
  
Seifer took a deep breath and looked down on the ground. They both knew what they had done. He looked up and met her ocean blue eyes, answering in silence that they were both going to be all right. "I found the King laying down, with his front firmly planted on the ground. I believe he has been injured during the fight in the marshes."  
  
"Then, we must bring him inside immediately!" Quistis stroked Irvine's hair, feeling remorse for the King, no love for him. She has always loved her Knight. She heard footsteps behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed the kitchen men and the handmaiden made an effort to run to the King's side quickly. They all gathered around Irvine and together, they lifted him off the horse and carried him inside. Quistis and Seifer followed behind, glancing once and a while at each other with guilt in their hearts.  
  
  
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The hot water dripped down her tiny fingers. She placed the cloth over the injury, receiving a wince from the fallen figure. Noticing his distress, Selphie removed the cloth from his back and stared at the King. She could see the color coming back on his face and she knew he was going to be all right.  
  
She felt a draft in front of her and at that moment, she knew the door had opened. She looked up and saw the Queen with concern in her face, waiting for an explanation of his condition. Her handmaiden would never know the cause for the look on her face.   
  
"He will be fine, Your Highness," she spoke softly. She forced a smile on her face, thinking not of the King, nor the Queen's worried looks, but the life she was living in now. What if her one true love did this to him? How can she ever live with this? Maybe it was for the best that they kept apart.... No.... she could not let go of Zell. Her love for him was too much to let him go. For one brief moment, Selphie was silent, then looked up at the Queen and spoke again. "I have put some healing herbs on the wound. He will be fine by morning."  
  
The Queen nodded. "Thank you, Selphie," she said, laying down on the bed. She placed a hand on his head and stroked the King's disheveled chestnut hair. He opened his eyes for a moment, smiled and closed his eyes again to sleep.   
  
Selphie smiled and stood up from her position on the other side of the bed. She replaced the cloth with a white, strip and wrapped it gently around his torso, having to slide underneath him to tie the band securely around him. When she was finished, she turned the King over on his back and glanced at the Queen, who gave her a thankful look. She took one last look at the King, before leaving the room.   
  
Quistis waited until the door closed behind the handmaiden. The Queen placed a hand over his large ones and smiled slightly at the King's sleeping state. He opened his eyes again, revealing his green orbs and squeezed her hand.   
  
"I thought I would never see you again," he spoke.  
  
Quistis shook her head, placing a finger on his lips. "Hush, do not speak. Your energy is important for recovery."  
  
Irvine nodded and grinned. "Before I sleep, I need a kiss from my wife." He stroked the back of his wife's hand and lifted it up to his lips, kissing it lightly. Quistis smiled, her heart still aching with guilt. She leaned towards him and kissed him lightly on the lips.  
  
  
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Seifer opened the door quietly, making sure he was not interrupting anything. He expected for the King to be resting by now, while the Queen sat by his side. It was her duty to do so, as not to have any suspicions from the servants or the Trusted Advisor of her behavior. Unfortunately, as he peeked inside the slightly opened door, what he saw sunk his heart. The Queen had her lips pressed against the lips of her King, that at that moment, the Queen and her King were meant for each other. Forcing a smile on his face, feeling lonely and lost, he closed the door gently and walked silently into the hall.  
  
  
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"Zell.... How could you?" Selphie walked out into the grassy courtyard. She felt lonely and lost underneath the stars. She wished everyday that Zell would leave his duties and come to her.   
  
"Selphie....." Startled at her whispered name, Selphie squinted her eyes towards the greens gathered slightly adjacent in front of her. The bushes swayed back and forth, alerting Selphie, when an unexpected visitor jumped out of the shadows. The figure clutched at his arm, blood pouring down the sleeves of his tunic and the corner of his temple. Selphie recognized his golden, blond hair.  
  
Zell fell on his knees, his eyes weary from the long travel and looked up at Selphie running to him. She kneeled in front of him and gazed at him in worry. Selphie examined him up and down, noticing the bruises on his legs and the frowned.  
  
She went to his side and wrapped an arm around his waist, then helped him up on his staggering feet. The blond warrior forced himself not to put all the weight towards Selphie, since he knew how small she was compared to him. However, Selphie just pulled him with her, not caring how much weight he put her. She guided him towards the door that led to the kitchen. It was a risk to bring him in, but she could not leave him to die out here. He would have to stay in the quarters where she sleeps.  
  
"I wanted for this war to end, so I went to find out the truth on the reason why this war is happening. I went to my Highness' quarters to speak to him, when I heard a second voice, that I have never recognized before. The voice sounded female and I thought maybe it was just the Duchess, with something in her mouth, but it was not. I knew it was not. I peeked inside and I saw a woman with fiery red mane."  
  
Selphie shook her head. "Do not speak, my love," she warned, placing a finger to her lips. "You may explain to me once you are well."  
  
Zell sighed and nodded, closing his mouth.  
  
  
****************  
  
Thanking the Gods for giving her a chance to carry the injured soldier to her quarters, Selphie led Zell to the bed. It did not matter to her now the blood stains on her bed, just as long as Zell was here with her. Zell winced, as he voluntarily removed his tunic from his shirt to reveal a large gash going down his arm. Selphie gasped at the sight and she looked up with a frown on her face.  
  
"Zell..." she whispered.   
  
The blond soldier shook his head and grinned. "Do not worry too much of me, Selphie."  
  
Selphie forced a smile on her face the second time that day and took out the items needed from her dresser drawer. Returning to Zell, she lifted up his arm gently, causing Zell to flinch and dabbed the healing herb on the large gash. Zell closed his eyes, trying to suppress the pain.   
  
"This woman with the fiery red mane.... What did she speak to the Duke about?" Selphie asked, dabbing over the wound gently.  
  
Zell winced at every dab, but managed to keep his composure. "She had asked the Duke about letting her have all Kingdoms once he was finished conquering them."  
  
She looked up. "What? What does that mean? You are speaking of the Duke?"  
  
Zell nodded. "Yes. I could not believe it myself, but I heard it with my own ears. When I peered in closer, she must have seen me. The next thing I remember, soldiers appeared behind me and began to attack me. The Duke did nothing to stop the abuse. She must have enchanted him somehow."  
  
"Why do you believe that?" The blond man was silent, causing Selphie to stop and look into her lover's eyes. "Zell?"  
  
"The late Duke Laguna would never force this kind of atrocity. He raised his son well and taught Squall to become a wonderful ruler of Esthar. When he died, Duke Squall promised to fulfill his father's dreams by being a good ruler for his people....." he paused. He stared ahead of him.  
  
Selphie glanced at him. "What? What is it?"  
  
"He has acted quite differently since that woman appeared." Zell remembered the woman with a hood over her head. She had sneaked inside the castle and was caught by him. He demanded to the woman of her purpose and she told him of the news about Balbadia plotting an attack on Esthar. "That woman lied!" he suddenly yelled, slamming his free hand on the bed.  
  
The brunette jumped.   
  
"How dare she lie to the Duke! He must have believed everything she said! I must go to him and warn him!" He stood up, but a hand stopped him from doing so. Zell looked down on the concerned face of Selphie, who had her hand placed gently on his shoulder. "Selphie, I must warn the Duke."  
  
"You are injured, Zell. I can not bare to see you struggle during battle. Your warnings can wait." She pulled him back down.  
  
Zell shook his head. "It simply can not, Selphie! The Duke's life is at stake. I must warn him!"  
  
"Your loyalty to the Duke makes me wonder what kind of man you are. You are a kind man with a determination in his soul. I understand those things, but I simply can not let you go alone. You must speak to the King."  
  
"The King of Balbadia?" Zell looked at her strangely. "I can not speak to the King of Balbadia. He is my enemy, my Duke's enemy."  
  
"Am I your enemy, Zell?"  
  
Zell stared at her. He did not speak. He did not want to believe that they were enemies, yet they were.   
  
"You want to end this war, do you not?"  
  
Zell nodded, silently.  
  
Selphie wrapped a white band around his arm and clasped the two ends together with a clip and sat down on the bed beside him. She buried her face on his shoulder and began to weep. "If you wish to end this war, then I need you to stay. Please... for me? I need to see you, I wish to be by your side."  
  
Zell could not look at her. He was too shameful of the words he said to her before. He wished to be by her side as well. "Selphie... my words to you hurt you deeply. I can not be forgiven."  
  
"I have forgiven you even before you left for that battle in the marshes. Your words held truth in them, but I knew you never meant them." She kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. "I wish for you to speak to the King on this matter."  
  
Zell finally nodded. "Fine. I will speak to him now."  
  
Selphie shook her head and looked at him in the eyes. "No, Zell. You and I must rest soon. Night has fallen. I need you here with me right now. I have missed you so."  
  
Zell nodded reluctantly and plopped down on the bed, along with Selphie. Their feet, both dangling at the edge, stayed firm, as they wrapped each other in comfort. He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.  
  
"Selphie... I love you...." He whispered.  
  
The brunette closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. The words she has waited all her life has finally been spoken. Selphie looked up and kissed his lips. "I love you too, Zell."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: All right, sixth chapter is finished! I hope you enjoyed that one! Now.... Will Zell really talk to the King? What about Seifer? What happened to him after he saw the Queen and the King kiss? Will there still be Queifer in this story? Awww, don't get mad. This is a Queifer and a Zelphie after all! 


	7. Last Good bye

Note: Okay, sorry for the long wait on this! I was just finishing up another story, but anyway, here it is! A Seiftis/Queifer and Selphell/Zelphie story! Hope you like this chapter!  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 7 - Last Good bye   
  
  
  
There is a power within which cannot be removed. It is a force so powerful that only maybe a few thousand soldiers can fight against. Maybe no one at all.   
  
It was seven days passed the night the King became well. He had recovered so soon and wished to fight again in battle against the Estharian troops. The Duke's men, as Zell finally explained, already made it pass the marshes and the King was afraid that if they make it pass the high hills, they could be crushed. It was not easy evacuating thousands of his people into their secret hiding place. It may not be enough time. He told the King of a woman in a red main enchanting the Duke. However, the King believed it to be a trick and put the Estharian soldier to prison.  
  
Upon hearing of the news about the Estharian soldiers, the King removed his royal cloak and put on his armor for battle. The Queen watched in horror, wishing he would stay and not put himself in danger.   
  
Once Seifer noticed this look on her face, he knew what he had to do. He approached the King immediately and bowed his head in respect to His Highness, while his servants helped the King put on his silver and gold armor. "Your Highness, if I may speak."  
  
The King did not turn. He watched himself through the mirror, making sure his armor was put on tight. "Yes, go on." One of his servants fastened the belt at his back tightly, while another placed his metal gloves on his hands.   
  
The blond Knight glanced at the Queen, who was watching him, wondering what it is that he may speak of. "I do not think it will be wise for you to fight in battle, sir," he said.  
  
Irvine lifted a hand to stop his servants from armoring him and turned around, his golden cape flying around him. "Are you telling me what not to do, Sir Knight?"  
  
Seifer nodded. "Yes sir, I am. It is best that you stay here with the Queen for safety sir, while I send myself and my men to drive off the Estharian soldiers."  
  
The brunette watched him curiously. "I am a King, Seifer. I can not sit here and do nothing to help my men fight in battle."  
  
"Yes, I understand that you wish to help, but the Queen can not help. I cannot watch you die, or the Queen. She has almost lost you once, she can not lose you again." He stared into the King's eyes.  
  
Irvine furrowed his eyebrows in wonder. He glanced at the Queen, her blue eyes almost in tears as she gazed up at him. Sighing, he put his arm back down at his side and nodded. "Very well. You do what you must, but..." he paused and looked at the knight. "You must try your hardest to live for me, Seifer. You have been my friend since the day we were born and I wish nothing but your safe return."  
  
Seifer acknowledged the speech of friendship from the King and with one fleeting expression towards the Queen he said, "With all my might, I will return to you."  
  
The Balbadian King grinned, glancing at his servants as if to say to remove his armor and waved his hand at the blond knight. "You may leave tomorrow. I want you to get a good night's rest before you battle."  
  
The blond bowed his head in agreement. "Yes, sir." He took another glance at the Queen, her eyes full of tears. She frowned at him, wishing he would not go in battle and, yet he smiled in return, before he turned and walked away to his quarters to rest.   
  
The Queen watched him go, her heart felt like breaking in pieces for the man she loves. She could almost see him fading into the darkness and never return to her again.  
  
  
  
  
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"How much longer?" He looked up at her as she fed him a fresh apple from the Queen's courtyard. She had asked the Queen if she could feed the Estharian soldier and the Queen kindly agreed.   
  
"It will not be long, my love," she whispered, handing him the green apple.  
  
He took it from her hand gently, while at the same time, stroked her hand. "I wish nothing more than to be with you, Selphie."  
  
Selphie smiled. She grabbed the empty hand and brought it to her cheek, stroking the back of his hand against her face. "And I you, Zell."  
  
The blond sighed, moving his hand so his palm was facing her and brushed it gently on her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin. Without a word, he gazed into her eyes and smiled.  
  
The brunette put the tray down on the ground and grabbed his hand with both of her hands and closed her eyes. "I am sorry for not being there for you when you told him. I could not. The Queen needed me."  
  
Zell nodded. "I understand. Do not be ashamed for me. I am an Estharian soldier, after all. I am the King's enemy and what else for me to do than rot in this prison."  
  
Selphie shook her head. "You will not rot here. I will ask the Queen to speak to the King about pardoning you. Surely, he will listen. You have not done wrong."  
  
The soldier looked away. "I have done many things wrong, Selphie. I am a soldier of Esthar, enemy of Balbadia. I am ordered to kill those in my way and not put any resistance to the orders given to me. If I return to Esthar, they will kill me for betraying the Duke. Where will I go then?"  
  
The handmaiden put his hand down. "You will come live with me here as one of Sir Seifer's men. I know he will agree."  
  
Zell frowned. "Become a Balbadian?" He shook his head. "I wish nothing more than to agree to that proposition, but I was born to be an Estharian. I have learned the ways of Balbadia and their errors. I know of Balbadia's secret plot to destroy the Duke so they can take over and become an even greater power."  
  
Selphie stood up, pushing his hand away from her in anger. She planted both her fists on her hips and frowned at the soldier. "Why do you say that we Balbadians are plotting to take over the world? Are Estharians not the ones attacking us? We are defending ourselves!"  
  
The blond stood up, staring eye to eye with his loved one. "Estharians are too, defending themselves! They plan to take action first before the Balbadian soldiers make a move towards the mountains that leads to Esthar."  
  
"What soldiers? They are still here. Sir Seifer and his men are planning to drive off the Estharian soldiers making their way at the top of the hill," Selphie countered.  
  
Zell shook his head. "You know nothing, Selphie. When the King came back from battle, there were still some men left, alive and well. I know, because I was one of those men who fought against them. I heard the King order the men, before they took plight in the battle that whomever survives, will continue on to the mountains in hiding and do as best as they can to reach Esthar."  
  
Selphie was on a verge of tears. She knows nothing? "How dare you say I know nothing? I know that my King would never do such a thing. He would never do such a thing! He is a good King and would never surrender to any woman that has enchanted your so-called Duke."  
  
"The woman is not of your concern, Selphie! She has done nothing to make orders to the Duke. She merely pushed him to become someone else I do not remember him to be!" Zell yelled.  
  
Selphie said nothing.   
  
The blond stared at her, frowning. He knew what he had done. He had hurt the only girl he ever loved and for the second time as well. Why do they end up like this, arguing and spitting hurtful words to each other? He watched her turn and leave without another word to him.  
  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
The night was full of stars, as if it was a sign of his last night on earth. He could not sleep, knowing that the battle tomorrow was going to be his last. He had time to rest, but only for a couple of hours, then decided to roam around the castle, to remember its beauty and magnificence. The castle was divided in two. One, a Galbadia descent, where the King had his quarters, while the other, a Balamb descent, where the Queen had hers. The Queen's handmaidens slept on the Balamb descent, while the soldiers and stable boys slept on the other side. He slept at the Balamb descent. The King ordered him to be there so he could watch over the Queen. He could not blame him, after all, he was the only Knight left in the castle, because the rest of the knights the King took with him during the last battle, had all died. The King had a choice and he decided quickly, because the King knew how to defend himself. The Queen did not know how too.  
  
Seifer snorted at that thought. The last time she ever held a sword was when she tried to escape the castle. Irvine still did not know the Queen very well.   
  
Soon, he found himself walking around the courtyard on the Balamb area, watching the moon up above staring at him with its bright eyes. Seifer sighed, sitting down on the ceramic fountain in the middle of the courtyard with little cherub angels spitting out water.   
  
"Seifer," someone whispered from afar. Alarmed, Seifer unsheathed his sword and looked around the halls of the courtyard, where darkness usually surrounded it.   
  
"Who goes there?" He noticed a shadow move to his right. The blond Knight slowly crouched into a defensive position, ready to strike the intruder with his weapon. The figure moved close to the light where the moon was shining so he could see whom it be.  
  
"Do you always alarm yourself every moment I am near?" the Queen spoke, with a smile on her face.  
  
Seifer's eyes glowed in surprise. He put his weapon back in its sheath and stared at the Queen. She approached him slowly, her hands clasped in front of her. "Your Highness? Why do you still walk awake?"  
  
When she neared him, her smile faded into a frown. "Do you wish to punish me, Seifer?"  
  
The blond Knight stared at her. "What do you mean?"  
  
Quistis took a deep breath and took a couple more steps before finally making it near him. "Why do you insist on taking this task? You know that this battle will even be more dangerous than the first! Is this your way or running from your problems?" Tears fell from her eyes.   
  
Seifer shook his head. "You know that is not what I wish. I do not intend to punish you. I only intend to protect you."  
  
"Protect me? From what?" She looked at him curiously.  
  
"Protect you from the loneliness in your heart," he answered. "I would rather be the one to die so you can have someone to love, rather than choose for the King to fight with me and lose us both."  
  
More tears fell from her eyes. Without warning, she collapsed in her arms and cried in his chest. "No! I do not want to lose you! I do not care what people say! I love you! I love you most of all! I love you more than the King!" She wrapped her arms around his waist and moved her head to cry on his shoulders.  
  
The blond knight pulled her away from him and stared into her teary eyes. "You do not know how much it means to me for you to say that! I love you as well, but I cannot live in this lie forever. I cannot! When I see you with the King, I see how much he loves you. I have betrayed the King! I have betrayed my best friend..." he paused and looked down on the ground in shame. He was afraid to look into her eyes again and see the sadness.  
  
Quistis stared at him. The words he spoke were like a curse. "What do you mean? Is this the end? Are those words your last good bye?"  
  
Seifer shook his head. "No..."  
  
"Then what is it?!" She pulled her arms away from him and looked at him. "What are these words you spoke to me of? Are they words of good bye or just words to hurt me?"  
  
"You know I do not wish to hurt you. I..." He closed his eyes. "I must go." He turned to leave.  
  
"Seifer!" She ran to him and wrapped his arms around his waist, her hands reaching his chest. She rested her head against his back and cried. "I do not wish for you to go. Please," she whispered. "I wish for us to make love one last time."  
  
"Quisti-"  
  
"Please," she pleaded.  
  
The blond closed his eyes. He turned around slowly and looked into the beautiful ocean blue colour of the Queen's eyes. He could not resist her. He loved her too much to let her go. He leaned over and kissed her with all the love he can give and wrapped his arms around her waist, to pull her closer to him. She kissed back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Seifer removed his lips from hers and kissed her neck. Quistis closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of his lips against her skin. Before he could kiss the other side of her neck, Quistis pulled away and looked into his eyes.  
  
"Seifer," she whispered, placing a finger on his lips.  
  
The blond looked at her. "Yes?"  
  
"Come with me to my quarters," she replied. "Let us be together." She took his hand and together they walked out of the courtyard towards her bedroom.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: sniff! This was sooo sad! I know, I know, I always have Zell and Selphie fight, but what can I say? Their differences are the only thing that's keeping them apart. After all, Zell is an Estharian soldier, born to be an Estharian, while Selphie was raised to be a Balamb, which turned into Balbadia castle. Anyway, poor Quisty and Seifer! I hope I get more reviews for this chapter! Ciao! 


	8. Parable Of The Lovers

Note: Hi all! Last chapter was very heartbreaking. So, here's a summary to those who are just tuning in.........  
  
Last time on Chapter 7:   
  
First, news has been heard that the Estharian soldiers have moved forward and are on their way towards Balbadia. Zell tells the King about the Duke being enchanted by a woman in a 'red mane' and that is why he is acting so strange. The King thinks it is a trick, a way to say that Zell is making a fool out of him so that he will think Squall is innocent and imprisons Zell. Meanwhile, Irvine gets ready to suit up for battle, but Seifer notices the Queen is upset about him going into battle soon. So, he does the most honorable decision of his life. He decides that he should take orders of his soldiers to drive off the Estharian soldiers and let the King stay with the Queen, knowing he will never return to the castle again. Quistis finds this a terrible news and that night, she comes to him, declaring her undying love for the knight, which leads to something more. However, they are not the only ones having their 'last good byes.' Two people converse in the cell. Zell and Selphie feel warmth with each other. Zell explains that if he returns to Esthar, he will be executed for 'betraying' the Duke. Selphie suggests that he stay and become a Balbadian, but Zell refuses and says he was born as an Estharian, not as a Balbadian, who do 'bad deeds.' This comment leads to Selphie's anger, thinking that Zell is blaming Balbadia, which includes her for starting the war. She encounters by saying that it is Esthar who started the war. They start a fight and leads to Selphie leaving the cell angry.  
  
  
Chapter 8 - The Parable Of The Lovers   
  
  
The sun greeted her with a touch of rays upon her brows. Light beamed throughout her quarters, making a unique form of bouncing gold around the walls. She opened her eyes ever so slowly, afraid that if she turns her head, he would not be there. However, despite her fears, she glanced to her right and found no one lying down beside her. She jerked her head to the window, which was half opened by her Knight before he left, preferably because of the hot, humid air last night. A horse whinnied in the background and that noise led her to believe that it was the sound of Onex, Sir Knight Seifer's strong and beautiful black Stallion. On her feet, she walked to the window and looked down below to find her Knight guiding Onex towards the front gate. She watched from above as a messenger, dressed in a royal red tunic adorned with jewelry approach the blond knight.   
  
"Sir, the King is waiting for you at the front gates," the young man spoke.  
  
Seifer nodded. "Thank you, Braun," he replied. The brown haired young man bowed his head before leaving the presence of the tall Knight and left to bring the news back to the King. He glanced up through the window and found his Lady staring at him with her ocean blue eyes. With his heart fluttering with joy, he smiled wide and raised a hand for a farewell.  
  
Her Highness smiled back, her tears streaking down her porcelain face. She raised a hand and pressed it against the glass-stained window and murmured, "I will miss you," through her lips. With her mind set on him, she was startled to see someone running towards the occupied Knight. She watched closely, realizing that the figure was her handmaiden, Selphie. She furrowed her eyebrows curiously.  
  
"Sir Seifer," she called. Seifer took his eyes off of the window and glanced to his right to see Selphie running to him.   
  
"Selphie? What is it?" He held on tightly to Onex's reigns.   
  
Selphie took a deep breath, unsure whether her words were to be remain true. She looked down and took a few more breaths.  
  
"What is it, Selphie?" he repeated, his voice seemingly annoyed.  
  
The brunette looked up. "May I ask what will become of the prisoner?"  
  
Seifer stared at her curiously. "The prisoner? The prisoner from Esthar?"  
  
Selphie nodded to his question.   
  
"Do you not know? He is to be executed for trespassing and attempting to murder the King, of course. Why? What is your relation to him?" Seifer pressed forward towards the front gates, with Selphie close behind.   
  
"Because that man in the cell right now is my true love," she replied. Drops of tears formed in her eyes and they gathered there until it fell down.  
  
Seifer paused, turning his head towards her to see if she was telling the truth. Yet, as he gazed into her emerald eyes, he knew that her lies were never there. "Your true love?"  
  
Selphie nodded. Although it was forbidden to do so, she placed a hand on his shoulder to make him see the truth in her words and gazed closely into his eyes. "Please sir, you are the only one who can make him understand. I know he is our enemy, but I love him so and I cannot bear to see him die. I know I have betrayed my King and my country, but my heart still aches of love for him." Tears streaked down her pale cheeks and she wiped them away with so much sadness in her actions.   
  
The blond Knight looked down in shame. "Yes, I know what you mean." He took a deep breath, took one quick glance back to the window and looked up at the handmaiden. "I will speak with him before I leave."  
  
"Thank you, Sir," she spoke softly, wiping away more tears that fell down her chin. She removed her hand from his shoulder and smiled greatly.  
  
Seifer nodded, moving forward more with his horse on his heels. He glanced behind him towards Selphie, her tears quickly fading away.  
  
Soon, he arrived at the front gate. The King, along with his royal servants greeted him with a smile. Seifer approached the King with confidence in his heart and greeted the King with a warm 'hello' before stopping himself and his horse in front of them.   
  
"Seifer, I see you are prepared," the King spoke.  
  
The blond shook his head. "Not quite, Your Highness."  
  
Irvine stared at him curiously. "Not quite? What do you mean?"  
  
Sir Seifer took a deep breath, telling himself to be calm. He knew the King very well and Selphie was right, there is no reason for him to be afraid to offend his best friend. "About the prisoner, what will become of him?"  
  
The King stared at him. "He will be put to death, of course. No enemy of Balbadia comes out alive. He will mean more trouble to us."  
  
"He has not done wrong, your Highness. Would it be humanly to release him? He has done no bad deeds since he arrived," Seifer countered.  
  
Irvine furrowed his eyebrows. "The bad deeds he has accomplished are the killings of my men, Seifer. Releasing him will not answer any justice."  
  
"And death will?" Seifer stared at him.   
  
For a moment, all was silent. The two friends spent staring at each other for a second, seeing if one would falter against the other. At last, the King blinked first, taking a long deep breath to emphasize his loss.  
  
"Very well, I will give him choices." The King glanced at two large men dressed in the royal armor with the King's royal emblem painted at the front of the chest. "Bring me the prisoner," he ordered. He glanced at his friend. "You are delaying your mission," he said.  
  
Seifer smiled. "Yes, I have noticed. But this I am doing for a friend."  
  
Irvine looked behind Seifer and found Selphie standing there, her face widening into a smile, but soon faded when the King noticed her. "I see," he said.  
  
A few minutes later, the same two soldiers arrived at the front gate with the prisoner walking ahead, his hands bound behind him. When they were close enough, the King stepped forward and stared at the blond man dressed in the same clothes he wore when he was taken in prison. The man introduced himself as Zell Dincht and it was surprising how he just appeared in front of the throne, telling him lies.   
  
"Zell Dincht, I have proposed a choice, instead of giving you a sentence on death," Irvine spoke. Selphie watched on, as she stood beside the blond Knight with anticipation and with curiosity to the King's plans.  
  
Zell looked up.  
  
The King took a deep breath; unsure whether this was something he was willing to do. "These choices will be made prior two days of your death. I have given you another chance for freedom only if you choose to join my army. If not, then your sentence will continue."  
  
The moment he turned his eyes towards the King, the Queen made her first appearance towards the event that was beginning to unfold. She placed herself beside her Handmaiden, closer to her Knight and watched on in interest. With clenched fists, the blond soldier stood up with tired legs and dared not look into the eyes of the King, his enemy.  
  
"Joining you to save my own life if very tempting, Your majesty, however, I can not." He shook his head, to the disbelief of Selphie and even to himself. "My heart still lingers for my Duke, my master. I have served him for many years and...." He paused and looked up into the eyes of the King for the very first time. "I would rather die than serve you!" he hissed, turning his face away.  
  
"NOOO!" a woman screamed. All faces turned their attention towards the handmaiden, who ran to her lover's side, her tears stricken with grief and terror. The King's men attempted to take her away, but the King waved his hand and shook his head. Selphie collapsed in his arms, gazing into Zell's eyes while tears fell down her porcelain face. "Are you being foolish?! Why do you wish to die?! Do you not wish to be near me anymore?!"  
  
Zell turned his eyes away from her. "You are not the reason for my choice, Selphie. And yes I am being foolish, but at least I still have my honour for the Duke."  
  
With a slight pause to her cries, Selphie took a deep breath. She took a step back, her eyes widening in shock. "Why-" She could not speak. Her words were cut off by more cries from her throat and for that one brief moment, all was silent from her lips. She glanced at everyone present around her, her cheeks flushing in frustration.   
  
"Selphie...." The Queen called towards her old friend.   
  
The younger girl did not seem to hear Quistis for her mind was set on her lover. She took one last look towards Zell before darting off back inside the castle.   
  
"Selphie!" Quistis called again. She neither took one last look nor gave a gaze towards the men as she ran after the frightened girl. The blond Queen paused for a moment gave one quick blow of silent kisses towards her Knight while the King was still occupied with the soldier and his punishment and quickly followed after the brunette handmaiden.  
  
Zell watched Selphie go. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, but all was rather too late. 'I love you, Selphie,' he whispered in his head. He fell to his knees, tears forcing it to fall, but Zell was strong enough to hold them back. He clenched his fists and allowed the King's guards to tie his hands behind him and take him back to the cell where he deserved to be put.   
  
  
  
  
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The walls closed around her and the path towards her dreams looped to make it more difficult for her to walk on. Her heart felt broken and untouched by the one man who hurt her most. She buried her face in her palms and wept, tears soaking the collar of her silk shirt.   
  
She watched in the distance, away from plain view and away from being seen by her friend as she laid her head down on her bed. She moved a strand of blond hair from her eyes and watched on while Selphie's tears were filled of sadness. Her only friend, her only Handmaiden, despite all the smiles she held on her face was suffering drastically. She left the girl to cry on her own, as she turned and walked away from the powers that was forcing her to weep along with her friend, yet, the Queen held it all inside of her.  
  
  
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"Do you now know how she cares for you so?" she asked, stepping forward towards the barred cell. The moonlight peeked through the window, casting a small shadow of her figure taking another step closer towards the bewildered man. He seemed surprised at her sight, yet she could not tell whether he felt saddened by his lover who wept alone in her quarters. He lifted his head up towards her, his face expressionless. She could not understand this man, whether he felt the pain or whether he was just trying to hide his feelings from the stranger who stood before him. "Why do you wish to die so?"  
  
His eyes slid away from her and down on the floor, feeling ashamed of wanting to answer the question. He did not wish to die, but he would rather hang than serve his enemy. "I already told you the answer to that Your Highness," he spoke, with her name mentioned with a certain mockery in his voice.  
  
The blond Queen grasped tightly on the bars and stared down at the lonely figure sitting on the bed. It was close to daybreak and she recognized her shadow moving away from her as the sun began to hide behind the high hills. She shook her head in disbelief, noting the surroundings around the prisoner. The condition of the cell was much worst than the bathrooms of peasants that lived among the poor side of the cities of Balamb. Rats scattered along windowsill, each sniffing the air for any signs of food. One large rat approached the blond man cautiously and when it had a good sniff, knowing there was nothing the man could give him, it fled through the window and disappeared. More rats scowered against the walls, hoping to find any scraps of food left by the previous prisoners before the blond man. She took her time watching the rats flourish, when the blond man's voice cut through her thoughts.   
  
"She does care for me?" he asked, the hope in his voice clearly present in his throat. He watched her, green eyes meeting blue and their gaze turned into friendship than strangers talking amongst each other.   
  
She shook her head. "She doesn't care for you," she answered. When she noticed his hurt, yet confused expression, she cleared her throat to speak further, just to verify that she did not mean those words. "She loves you," she added.  
  
The blond sighed a breath of relief. Questions ran through his mind and none of them were ever answered. He was not certain whether death was his right choice. He understood that Selphie loved him so and he loved her as well. Yet, try as he might to rid of the doubts in his mind, the Queen, nor he alone, could change his mind. "Tell her I understand her pain, but I have chosen and I can not change my answer any longer."  
  
Quistis watched in concern. Why is it that death is the only answer to proving love or honour? At that thought, she saw her Knight's face. He chose to be in the King's position in battle, knowing he would die. Why do men hurt the ones they love the most by dying? It proves nothing! "You can change your answer," she spoke softly. She wanted to scream at the man for making a horrible mistake by choosing out of honour than love. Or royalty and friendship than love. With all the wishes of wanting to strangle the blond Estharian in her mind, she did not risk it. Her heart was in the right place, despite the heartbreak. "Love is worth everything, Sir Zell. Selphie is my dearest friend and she loves you so. She risked her reputation tonight by revealing her love for you and if not for her being my friend, the King would have taken her away from me. You must understand the value of loving someone." With that spoken, she turned and left the confinement of the cell.   
  
Zell watched the Queen go. Dressed in her fancy dress, she lifted the front of her skirt and climbed up the steps back to the main hall. When she had gone from his sight, Zell leaned forward and leaned his chin against his curled wrist on his lap. Even more questions and doubts wheeled freely in his mind. His thoughts were later tangled together in a web, enabling him to really see through them.  
  
  
  
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***few hours pass***  
  
  
The battle was at the top of the soldiers' minds. He stood proudly atop his horse and watched from a distance. The King's men and all of his own men were gathered together in a blockade to prevent the enemy from passing. At the signal of his cries and the release of his Hyperion from its sheath, all the men cried in response. The Knight's cries and the men's cries echoed across the plains, reaching the ears of the enemy's making their way up the hill.   
  
Seifer placed his sword in front of him, pointing his sword ahead, his eyebrows creasing in a serious expression. "Let's go men!" he yelled. He tapped the sides of his Stallion and soon, he was heading towards the hiding place of the enemy, just behind the green hills of Balamb. Followed by devotion of the soldiers, the blond Knight was sent by his horse over the hill, charging towards the group of soldiers nestling behind some bushes. Seifer's men made it over the hill by the time the Estharian soldiers made their way towards him. One man gripped his sword tightly and was already right by his leader's side. He glanced up at Seifer and grinned, his brown eyes flashing with determination, then ran ahead, swiping his sword from side to side for a good fight. Seifer joined him later, using his Hyperion and attacking some of the men trying to kill the brown-eyed man. The blond slit his knife across a man's throat, blood pouring from his neck, where some redness spurted on his coat.   
  
By now, a herd of men from each side ran towards each other, swords clashing in the distance, while screams were heard around them. Seifer slashed another man's throat, but before the man could fall to the ground, his sword made contact with the blond Knight's head, slashing him across the forehead and to the top of the nose. An Estharian soldier grabbed at Onex's tail, making the horse to squeal in surprise. It lifted both its hind legs, forcing Seifer to fall back first on the ground. He quickly got up to defend himself, despite the pain in his back and fought his away through the masses. More metals clashed and rang in his ears. Seifer ran through some more fight scenes and finally made it pass the conflict. He was ready to head back to fight with his men, when some force hit his head fairly hard, sending him unconscious on the ground.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: OH NO! another cliffhange! Heh heh! Sorry for the long wait, but I hope you enjoyed the read here. Awwwwww, poor Selphie. Has Zell really made his decision to die? What happened to Seifer? What's going to happen to him? Hm... why don't you see and find out soon? 


	9. Tears of content

Note: Okay, I expected more people to review... what ever happened to those people who enjoyed reading my story? Oh well, at least I got some people. gasp! What happened to Seifer? Wanna know? Huh? Wanna know? Well, here it is!!!!!  
  
  
  
Chapter 9 - Tears of content   
  
  
  
Determined eyes opened, revealing a flash of green pupils blinking as if awaken from a dream. Hoping to find himself up in heaven with his Queen as his angel, he glanced around him. A pair of emerald eyes stared back at him, almost startling him from his thoughts. Like lightning, he stood up from his laying position and grabbed the young man's coat collar, a train of memory of what had happened beamed back in his mind. He remembered being hit at the back of his head so hard that he fell unconscious on the floor.   
  
"What happened?!" he spoke, panic almost looming in his voice. Seifer expected he had died and gone to heaven, or hell, wherever God wished him to be, yet, as he looked around some more, he could only see trees all around him, with darkness adding to the eerie theme surrounding the background.   
  
The same emerald eyes jumped back in surprise, startled at the blond for suddenly running after him, grasping at his tunic collar. He was unable to speak, for it was hard to speak as the blond gripped at his collar much too tightly. He gasped in for breath, breathing from his nose instead of his mouth and started to turn blue in the face.  
  
Realizing what he was doing, Seifer released his grip from the young boy and stepped back, waiting patiently for him to take a deep breath before speaking. Once he had done so, the young soldier looked at him and frowned. "Sir, we found you collapsed on the floor. It was a good thing Orion saw you on the ground before the man could slit your throat with your blade."  
  
"Orion?" Seifer asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. It was not his duty, however to remember all the names of his soldiers, in fact, he did not wish to. Yet, to what the young man said, he wished nothing but to thank this Orion fellow and know him better. After all, he did save his life. "Where is he?"  
  
The brown haired young boy looked down, afraid to face him and deliver a very striking revelation to where Orion had gone. Seifer knew exactly then what had happened to him.   
  
The blond frowned. "I see," he spoke softly. "State your name and rank," he ordered.  
  
The young soldier immediately straightened up from his slouched position and saluted his Captain with trembling hands. Seifer can still see the sadness in his emerald eyes and he could not help but feel remorse. Him and that Orion fellow must have been very close.   
  
"Sir, I am Riley Kon second class soldier," he answered, keeping his eyes straight forward, afraid to look into the eyes of his Captain. He has always heard the Captain to be awfully strict amongst his soldiers and ordered his men to always be strong and not let tears interrupt with their fighting.   
  
Seifer examined Riley for a moment. He was equally the same height as he, yet with the difference in stature and poised, and maybe even age. The young soldier was made mostly of skin and bones and he stood tall enough for his legs were long and dreadfully skinny. However, despite the flaw, he admired Riley. He could tell he was trying to hold tears for what had happened to Orion. The young lad held the brightest green he has ever seen on anyone and his skin were painted with a ghostly pale colour, rather than the soft peach. His hair was sandy brown with highlights of blond, light enough to show. And for the blond knight's guess, he was no more than at least fifteen years old. "What is your relation with Orion, Riley?" he asked. Although he never really wanted to pry in an individual's personal life, it was important to him at that moment.   
  
Riley looked up from his train of thought, desperately choking back tears that threatened to fall. In spite the force of driving away the pain in his eyes, Seifer could tell the sandy haired boy suffered for his friend or any other relation he can think of. "He was my brother, sir, a few years ahead than I," he explained. He shuffled his feet uncomfortably and took a deep breath. "He was some twenty or so and his celebration of turning the first of twenty, was to be taken tomorrow."  
  
Seifer looked down shamefully. "I am sorry to hear of that." He lifted his head back up and forced a stern look on his face. He slapped the boy's back like a brother slaps his brother as a sign of respect and forced his lips into a smile. "Your brother will be rewarded for being so honourable and courageous by sacrificing his own life just to save mine. I will be forever in his debt."  
  
"Sir, Orion fought a great fight to keep you alive. As if the earth had shaken him on his feet and forced him to push you aside so the blade struck him instead of you," a voice spoke in the darkness. Seifer looked around and found a shorter man, a few years more than Riley himself. The blond Knight can only guess that he was some twenty as well, much like Orion, the fellow who pulled him out of Death's grasp.   
  
"And you are?" Seifer asked, turning around to face him.  
  
The older man cleared his throat, stepping in beside Riley and straightened up. "I am Hanse Mortimer, first class, sir," the man replied. Seifer examined him for a while as well, noting his age and height. Hanse was no closer to his age, yet at least two years older than him. He was five foot ten and unlike the skinny Riley standing beside him, Hanse had broad shoulders and strong arms.   
  
Seifer nodded, realizing the truth in his voice. He took his eyes off the two men and glanced around him. Trees and more trees added to the darkness surrounding them. However, despite the blackness that overcame his sight, he could still see figures of some of his men; some lying down on the ground with injuries on their legs and some were standing uncomfortably. Seifer regarded them equally and counted to have only five men present. "How many of you are left?" he asked, just to make sure whether his senses were true.   
  
Hanse was the first to answer. Riley stood silent, holding back the tears that threatened to fall. The older man glanced to his young friend and then at his captain. "There are seven of us, sir," he answered.  
  
Seifer furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He glanced once more around the men present near him. "You lie to me, Hanse? I see only five, including both of you."  
  
"Sir, we are here," a weak voice commenced behind the shadows of two injured men sprawled on the ground. Two figures revealed their faces from the shadows and stepped closer to the blond knight. One's leg had been injured badly, with a dirty cloth tied around the shin of a young man no more than thirteen. His fair hair that once bloomed in the light was soaked in thin layers of blood inflicted upon him from the back of his head. The other was still standing firm, yet rather awkwardly, for Seifer noticed the other had lost his large toe. The blond Knight could tell that the large toe-less man was the eldest out of all of them, for the wrinkles around his eyes were seen. He introduced himself as Lorlith Albatoss, first class, while the one with the injured leg, with a tired murmur, named himself Sharn Kaiser, a second class soldier. With the introductions finished, Seifer made his way towards the three injured men, with more severe wounds than the others. One had lost his leg, one lost his arm and the other lost his eyesight. It will do no good for them any longer. If they were to escape from this forest prison, they will have to do without them. Yet, as Seifer watched on, he felt remorse for the trio. For them to be rested, he will have to order for the rest of his men to stay and help aid the injured with their pain. Time will have to tell how long they will live.   
  
"Tonight we will stay," Seifer spoke, kneeling down beside the man with no leg, who introduced himself Paris Artnin. The blond knight tear apart of his cloak and wrapped it around the man's leg gently. The man, in guessing, was almost twenty himself and had bright blue eyes. Seifer could see the fear in his eyes as he winced in pain while he wrapped the cloak around the wound. After doing so, he stood up once again and ordered three of his men to bring the three injured men in a nearby tree and commanded for the youngest, which was Sharn Kaiser to make fire in the middle of the gathering. Sharn obeyed and went to fetch wood closest to them for the fire. He returned soon, with large stacks of wood gathered in his arms and laid them down silently, so as not to bring any attention to their enemy looking for them. Thus, his fire making began with little speech.   
  
After the fire has been made and the three injured men taken care of, all eight men gathered around the blazing inferno and sat silently for a moment, until the eldest of the eight, spoke with desperation. "Shall we move on, sir through the trees and return quickly to the castle?" he asked, watching the dancing flames in front of him.  
  
Seifer glanced towards Lorlith and shook his head. "The risks are too high to act upon it, Albatoss." He was not too keen on speaking with his men by their first names. For him, it had no manners in calling them by their given name. "This forest may be large enough for us to get lost and do not you forget, we must bring back three injured men with us. Our enemy is close and they search without any hesitation and will not be reluctant to kill us to prevent us from reporting what we have seen tonight. They will hunt us until I am found and until they are certain they have reigned victory over this battle."  
  
Lorlith said nothing after that. He fell silent, understanding the words of his captain and threw a small pebble towards the fire for his amusement.   
  
The night was soon taken into silence after a short conversation and it kept that way until all men, but one, closed their eyes for a deep slumber. Tonight's battle brought weariness to the seven soldiers left alive and thus, Seifer's conclusion confirmed their deep sleep. The blond captain leaned against the base of the tree and pulled from his trousers, a piece of blank papyrus paper. In his other pocket of his trousers, he reclaimed his writing pen and began to write to his beloved back in Balbadia castle:   
  
Dear Beloved of mine,  
  
I have been weary. I felt alone without you here to console me with my aches. The battle had won for the Estharians and there are eight of us left to fend for the freedom of Balbadia. We are lost somewhere in the large Mist Forest and we must stay put for the predators are desperately hunting for their pray. I miss you terribly, my beloved. I wish to see you soon and please do not be frightened of my absence there. I am alive and well and I assure you, I will soon return to be in your arms once again. I do not know how long we will stay until we move on back to the castle, but I will make certain it will not be too long of a wait for you.   
  
Yours always,  
  
Your dear Knight  
  
  
  
Sighing a content feeling, Seifer folded the paper twice in his hands and twice in his anxiety and returned the pen back in his pocket. The paper remained in the palm of his hands as he stared at it with a thought of knowing he had written lies in the paper. He was not certain when he will return and he knew he could not promise her such a thing. The risks, as he mentioned before, were much too high to take.   
  
"Sir?" a small, yet confident voice bloomed in the air. Seifer noticed Riley walking towards him and stood beside the Knight. Riley glanced at the paper on Seifer's hands and then into the man's eyes. "May I deliver this for you?" he asked.  
  
Seifer could only stare at him.   
  
With the blonde's uncertainty, Riley's confidence eventually faltered, replacing that of the same shy boy that Seifer knew the moment he met him. The boy merely shrugged, offering a kind smile towards him. "If you wish that is," he spoke. "I would gladly take the letter and deliver it in person to the woman you love."  
  
"Why do you suspect that this letter is to a woman?" Seifer asked, with a hint of irritation in his voice. How dare the young lad see into his writing! He must have seen the words written on the letter, that is why he is offering such an occupation.   
  
Oblivious to the anger in Seifer's voice, Riley shrugged once more. He nodded his head to the letter. "With such a long letter as that, I see you have so many words spoken. If it not be a woman, who's letter are you declaring your love to?"  
  
Seifer stood up quickly and stared into the young man's eyes. "Dare you look into my letter, boy?!" he hissed, with a whispered anger. "Do you have powers I do not know about that you can read my mind?" His suspicion grew fairly fast towards the boy.  
  
Riley stood back and shook his head. "N-no sir," he stammered. "I do not dare look into your letters. How can I? I have not been anywhere near your trousers and I could not bear to do such a thing! I only saw the tears in your eyes and I know you have no other loved one to write to but to a woman you love!"  
  
The blond knight's face softened and sagged his shoulders, feeling shameful of his behaviour just now. He had no reason to be angry towards the boy. He was right, after all, that he had no one else to write to, but to a woman. Were his tears really the reason the young boy could see whom he was writing to? He did not remember bringing tears from his eyes. Eventually, Seifer lifted up his bare finger to his eyes to see any indication of tears and was surprised to find a drop of water coming from the corner, dropping silently into his fingers. He had not noticed his feelings had finally shown, most of which the feelings of sadness and loneliness.   
  
"You are right," he spoke softly, leaning back down on the tree. He lifted up a hand where his letter was gripped and handed it to Riley. "Take this letter, if you are brave enough and deliver this to the Queen's handmaiden," he ordered, hoping the young boy would not question why the letter should be handed to the Queen's handmaiden.   
  
To Seifer's relief, Riley took the letter and left without a word or a glance of wonder why and ran out into the forest. Seifer hopes to see Riley soon as he watched him disappear behind the bushes of the Galipagos trees.  
  
  
  
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The King waited impatiently for the news of the battle that took place hours ago. He was in even more impatience, when a soldier with blood around his cloak appeared before him. He was, at last, his age and presented himself before the King. Irvine immediately stood, his heart beating in anticipation.   
  
"What is news, Clorin?" he asked, addressing the soldier as if he was younger than him, despite the age being the same, and stepped down from his throne, waiting for the young man to answer.  
  
Clorin sighed, feeling solemn for the men lost in battle. He said nothing and shook his head in shame.   
  
"I say, speak, Clorin!" Irvine commanded, his voice growing more impatient than ever and looked into his eyes.  
  
The young man took a deep breath, before finally speaking. "Terrible news, sir," he said. "Many of the men in battle lost their lives, especially the most honoured of them all." He produced a gray cloak from his pocket with blood soaked in it and handed it immediately to the King. "Sir Seifer.... He was a great man and I could not believe my eyes when I saw his armor near the hills. It made me confirm he died with honour, sir."  
  
Irvine took it from his hands and frowned. The gray cloak flashed the same hawk emblem as the blond Knight's, with blood dripping from it. The King said nothing and looked into the eyes of the young man. He waved his hand towards Clorin and dismissed him quickly for him to be alone.  
  
Without un-noticed, the Queen sat silently behind the throne where her husband could not see her, her heart beating with so much sorrow and pain. She watched as Irvine sat down on the throne in silent. Quistis gripped tightly on the curtain and made her way silently to her quarters, dropping her body down on the bed where her cries were heard in the distance. How in the most everything that was sinned could have her beloved knight die in the battle? "You promised!" she whimpered. "You promised to come back to me! Why are you not here?!"   
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
Morning soon came over the hills of Balbadia. Hearts full of sorrow woke up, still feeling the content on their faces as tears fell from their eyes. The King fell silent after hearing of the horrible news. He did not want to believe that his only friend had gone to heaven and he did not want to believe that Sir Seifer was not strong enough to prevent his death. His servants began to worry and attempted to tell the Queen of it, but were not able to, since the Queen was on the verge of silence as well.   
  
The Queen laid on her bed, still feeling tired of knowing that the love of her life was no longer standing by her side and comfort her whenever needed. Selphie, despite the sadness for her own loved one, hid her disappointment of herself and began to grow concern towards her long time friend. She knew the Queen will always have the dark clouds looming over her head no matter how hard she tried to comfort her. She knew everything about the Queen's affair with the handsome knight and chose to keep herself quiet. The fact that she was too worried about losing Zell, that she felt unconcerned for her only friend in the world.   
  
Once the sun beamed through her window, Selphie knocked on her friend's door quietly and stepped inside, regarding the Queen sitting near the window and watching the clear sky up above. "Your Majesty?" she called, stepping closer to her friend.  
  
She did not answer.   
  
Selphie took another step until she was near and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your Majesty, is there a cloud looming over your head?"  
  
The Queen looked up and smiled, wiping the tears away from her eyes. She shook her head, revealing the mask on her face, a way to hide her discomfort. "I am quite all right," she replied. "Do not worry too much about me. I feel more concern for you. How is the prisoner?"  
  
The handmaiden shook her head. "This is no time for me, your highness. The concern should be on you. I have been too selfish to notice your anxiety and I am not a friend for ignoring it." Selphie sat down beside her. "I feel I should ask what bothers you so. I know that your beloved Knight has been confirmed dead, but I do not believe this is so."  
  
Quistis looked at her with interest. "How do you mean?" Hope was seen in her eyes.  
  
Selphie smiled. "If he loves you so, he would have found a way to make himself alive. Love is a strong feeling and it can never be broken by death." She felt her heart beat, knowing that her words alone, were marked with her own heartache for her loved one. She for the sake of others, but never for herself always spoke her words.   
  
Upon hearing the words, Quistis leaned over and embraced her friend. She has been selfish as well. She can see Selphie's sadness. The young soldier trapped within the cell had one day left until death and Quistis had been too blind to see. "I have been selfish as well, Selphie, to notice your own anxiety. I say we are both selfish." More tears fell from her eyes and fell on Selphie's shaking shoulder.   
  
Selphie nodded, tears falling from her own eyes and streaking down to the taller woman's shoulders. "Yes," she spoke, her voice shaking in fear. "I believe we have been both selfish."  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
"I worry for him," one servant spoke, watching their good King sitting on dining room in silence. He stood by the entrance and examined Irvine quietly. He regarded the un-touched food and the pain-stricken face endured upon him, knowing that the King had so much in his mind to keep his focus on the task at hand.  
  
"Aye and it seems he has heard the news of my lady and Sir Seifer," another one said. They stared at each other and said nothing.  
  
Irvine sat on the table, using his fork to stab a pea and lifted up near his mouth. He stared at it, thinking of his good friend and how he had died. He shook his thoughts away from that grotesque idea and brought his attention on the food. However, food was not in his mind. He seemed unaware of the eyes watching him in wonder of that his thoughts were as his mind felt busy at the moment towards his close friend. He was a strong man. How can he have died so quickly in battle? He asked himself that many times and yet no answer came to him. He leaned back on his chair and sighed. The King suddenly lost his appetite.  
  
  
**********  
  
  
They have traveled many miles. The three injured men had to be left behind while one, while the rest of the three, minus Riley, who was still absent to deliver the letter, decided to look for a way out. Seifer, in the most obvious sense, led the way, using his Hyperion to cut through the bushes in the way. It was sometimes useless to cut them, since more bushes appeared in front of him and sometimes it led them somewhere else. He told the youngest to leave a trace behind so there will be no chance for them to lose their way. Sharn left large rocks for the path back, while Seifer continued on as the rest followed him. Every turn they took, it always led them back to their originally spot at where they had started. Seifer was on the verge of surrendering, when he heard footsteps nearby. He paused and listened some more. Before he had a chance to stop him, Lorlith, in desperation, ran ahead of him and towards the footsteps heard.  
  
"Hey! Here we are! We're your friends!" Lorlith screamed at the top of his lungs.  
  
"Lorlith, wait!" Seifer yelled after him. He tried to trip him with his Hyperion, but it was too late. He heard some screaming of a dozen men. Seifer ran to where Lorlith had gone, while telling Sharn to stay behind and found himself in an open field. Lorlith was sprawled on the ground, one hand blocking his face from two Estharian soldiers holding their swords in the air, ready to strike the man with them. Seifer paused nearby, still hidden behind the bushes and watched in horror as Lorlith was struck on the throat by one of the men with the swords, killing him instantly. Seifer turned around and ran back to where Sharn stayed.  
  
"We must retreat immediately," he whispered to him. The same footsteps under the grass moved and he can hear them coming closer. Sharn, trying to be brave, turned and fled, followed by his captain. In panic, he turned many corners, confusing him and Seifer even more. He stopped the young lad immediately, looking at him and giving him a questioning gaze. "The tracks. Follow them! Where are they?"  
  
Sharn looked around and found no sign of the large rocks left by him.  
  
More footsteps were heard. Sharn and Seifer stared at each other. The blond, in complete calm, placed a hand on Sharn's shoulder to calm him down. The young lad, though has been expose in battle, did not do well in calming himself down. Sharn panicked nervously and could no longer contain himself Tears were on his eyes and he looked for Seifer in comfort, the only one who would ever do such a thing at that point. Seifer looked at him, pushing him down on the ground. "I want you to stay where you are, all right?" he whispered to him. The bushes rustled as Seifer cautiously kneeled down beside the thirteen year old. The same footsteps were coming closer and just when his hopes died; the footsteps passed them and were heard heading another direction. The blond knight stood up slowly and craned his neck more to see three pairs of heads running away from them. His eyes suddenly glowed in shock as the three were heading to the direction where their camp was, especially towards the injured men they left behind. Seifer looked back down at the young boy. "You stay here, Sharn," he ordered. He turned and began to walk away, when Sharn's small voice stopped him.  
  
"Where are you, Sir Seifer? You will come back for me?" His eyes glittered towards him and Seifer had no choice but to calm him. He kneeled down beside the boy and nodded.  
  
"Of course I will return for you, but you must stay here. If any of them come, hide quickly somewhere. I will return quickly for I must bring our injured friends to safety."  
  
Sharn nodded. He watched as Seifer turned and ran cautiously away from him and deeper into the bushes.   
  
  
Seifer arrived soon back at camp. Luckily, he was able to find the tracks Sharn left behind so it was easy for him to return. He walked carefully towards the path and into a small area where trees were abundant and listened to any footsteps coming his way. When none could be heard, he walked even closer to their campsite and noticed silence in the air. To his fear, as he neared, the three injured men were already killed by the hands of the Estharian soldiers. Suddenly, aware of someone coming at him, he turned around quickly and noticed a man charging at him, with his sword brandished high above his head. More men surrounded him and, with his feet ready to move, ran pass the two men quickly and back into the bushes. In his guess, six more men were after him. He had to get back quickly to Sharn and bring him to safety. Yet, as he continued on his journey for survival, he had lost his way. Sharn was nowhere to be found.   
  
"Sharn!" he called. "Sharn answer me!"   
  
A small voice answered in the distance. "I am here, Sir!"  
  
Seifer followed his voice, continuing his way up into the bushes and finally found him kneeling beside ahead of him. When he noticed the knight coming his way, Sharn stood up, ready to take any orders he gave him. Seifer ran quickly, grabbed his hand and ran as fast as his feet could take them, unknown to them of their destination ahead.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: OOOOHHHH action! I like it! I like it!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it too!!!!!!!!! See you on the next chapter!!!!!!!! Hm... I wonder what Seifer gotten himself into? Poor Lorlith! Oh well, he was being stupid, j/k! Anyway, poor Quistis! She doesn't know that Seifer is still alive and trying to find a way to survive. Poor Irvine too! Whatever happened to Zell? Well, find out soon! Oh no! He has one more day until he has to die, right? See you on the next chapter then if you wanna find out!!!!!!!! 


	10. Enter Calik

Note: Okay... sorry for the long wait! I just want to thank you to those who reviews this story since the beginning of the chapter and I hope that I will hear more feedbacks from you peoples! Anyway, thanx again! ;)   
  
  
  
  
Chapter 10 - Enter Calik   
  
  
  
Amongst the beautiful green grass, he stood, calm and collected as he was before. Nothing could disturb him from his serenity and his fresh take on breathing marvelous air. There were moments that he wished it would never end, but the silence overwhelmed him at times and now wished he was back to where he had begun. Above him, clouds darkened his shadow and no longer did it reflect his figure and around him, the grass blew hard and he could hear the wind against his ears.   
  
And then....  
  
He opened his eyes. He was back where he was; back to the place where boredom was often felt. Zell rubbed his eyes with his clenched fists and sat up from his place on the stiff bed. He heard the door opening. Glancing quickly to the right of him, where the window gave light to the sun peeking in the horizon, he sighed deeply in his throat.   
  
"Zell?" a soft voice called. The voice sounded familiar and at that moment, he knew it was a woman calling to him. He turned his head towards the direction of the voice and noticed Selphie walking to him with a basket full of apples hanging from one arm. She took one apple from the basket and showed it towards him to see. "I have breakfast for you," she whispered. She was unwilling at first to see him, yet her heart would not let her. Her heart forced her to see his face one last time.   
  
The blond soldier was silent. Why would she take all the trouble in the world to feed him when he had one more day left until his heart no longer held that ache he had for her?   
  
Selphie neared closer to the bars and squeezed her arms in between them to give the apple a little closer. "These apples are fresh from Your Highness' garden. Methinks you will like this so."  
  
"I am not hungry," was Zell's cold retort. He could not face her. He dared not see the sadness in her eyes.   
  
The handmaiden frowned. Tears fell from her eyes and it streamed down her face like rain. Selphie put the apple back in the basket and looked down in shame. Unable to face the suffering any longer, she turned and prepared to leave, when Zell's voice broke into the silent air.   
  
"Perhaps it would be decent for us to speak with each other."  
  
Selphie paused, never turning around to face him and listened on as he continued to speak.  
  
Zell stood up and walked nearer towards her. He gripped the bars tightly, looking down in pain, as emotions finally began to stir in his heart. One by one, tears fell from his eyes and dropped peacefully on the gray earth. He could not speak, yet he forced himself to. "Sel-Selphie...." His voice trembled at the call of her name. "I wish you could stay by my side until the day that I die," he spoke. He shivered, knowing the truth that she would not dare go near him. He hung his head deeper and whimpered, no longer could he contain the emotions in his heart.   
  
Selphie turned around slowly and noticed him sink lower in the ground. She quickly went to his side and wrapped her tiny arms around him, feeling the warmth of his body. She could not kiss him for the bars were in the way, instead, she stroked his disheveled hair, feeling him shiver underneath her embrace. Her own emotions began to show. She closed her eyes and began to cry. "Why-? Why do you wish to die so? I- I wish you would join us and so shall you live."  
  
Zell shook his head and looked up, grief-stricken with tears. "I wish it were that simple, Selphie, but I shan't. My whole life dedicates mostly on my Duke, my master and I can not betray him!" He leaned forward and buried his head near her chest. "Do you not love me? Is that why you did not wish to be near me for what I have chosen? Have you thought that I wished to die than be with you?" When she did not answer, he continued. "That is certainly not the matter that I wish. In my heart, of course I wish to be with you."  
  
The handmaiden looked away, unable to see into his eyes any longer. "Your heart mostly belongs to the Duke, not to me." With those words spoken and without another glance towards the man she loves, Selphie turned and walked away, never again making another attempt to see into his eyes that were once seen with love and sincerity.   
  
Zell watched her leave as more water of grief struck across his face. There was never a day that he laid there and passioned himself in sadness for the woman he loves. He wanted to call out her name, but his lips were trembling with so much fear that he was unable to do so. His eyes flooded with tears and his hands shook as it gripped tightly around the cold bars. It was the day before he was due for death and for the first time in his life, knowing only to mask his face of his emotions, Zell Dincht wept.   
  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
In a contented sigh, she wiped away the tears from her eyes and bravely faced the dark path ahead. She stood outside the courtyard, waiting to find herself again, but every moment she thought about Zell hanging with his neck tied around a rope, it made her cringe and suffer more. She looked up into the night sky. Groups of stars, constellations, danced in even numbers while their shining tails beamed in her eyes. Wind blew around her, her brown hair fluttering about freely in untangled knots. The moon's ethereal glow lighted the dark path that she wished to take, but cannot move to. Every path she took, she knew she would end up in the same place again (sound familiar?).   
  
Her thoughts were easily distracted when a shadowed figure riding on a horse strolled towards her. The figure was lying on the horse's back as it slowly walked her way. A moan escaped the shadow's face and Selphie, easily frightened with the noise, backed away slowly, yet the small palomino continued to stride to her. It stopped only a few meters away, watching, waiting for her to come. However, despite her efforts to try, Selphie could not move her legs. She stood there, surprised and confused as the happenings unfolded before her. She was startled to notice the shadow jump from the horse and fall on the ground. He/she stumbled to her, holding something in his hand. There was an arrow shot through his arm and Selphie did finally come near. The light of the moon made her see who it was and she noticed that he was a young man, not much older than herself, wearing a Balbadian armor. He fell on his knees and the handmaiden was soon shocked to see another arrow shot at his back. Blood seeped through his thin armor and poured like rain on the grass. Selphie ran to his side and grabbed hold of him, helping him back up on his feet.  
  
"What has happened?" Selphie asked, leading him inside the castle. She looked behind him, hoping for more of the Balbadian men, but there was no one else. The young man was all alone.   
  
The young man did not answer. He looked up and lifted up his arm with something in his hand and lent out his hand to her. "I trust it that you are the handmaiden of the Queen?"  
  
Selphie could only nod.  
  
The young soldier shoved a piece of paper in her hand and groaned as the pain surged through his body. He straightened up himself, hoping to face her and smiled. "Give this to the Queen and tell no one." He fell back and the handmaiden attempted to help him back up, but the young man just pushed her out of the way. He backed away from her and smiled. "I have served my purpose," he said, before falling on his back as the arrow finally completed its task. The young man closed his eyes, smiling in pride and happiness that he had finally finished his mission. He can now join his brother in peace.   
  
Selphie watched wide-eyed towards the fallen body of the young man. She glanced at the paper in her hand, turned around and called for the Queen.  
  
  
  
****************  
  
  
  
The moon shined heavily upon his brow, waking him up from his peaceful, yet, none so desired sleep. There was never a day that he wished he was with his beloved and his Queen. If only he had told her that neither King, nor battle can hold his love for her. He would do whatever it takes to go back to the past and prevent him to go to war so he can stay with her. He felt guilt towards the young Riley, knowing now that the young soldier had been captured during his mission to send the message to the Queen. In his eyes, he could see Riley being killed slowly by the most deadly weapons used by the Estharians against their enemies, which were the bow and arrows.   
  
He glanced towards his only companion left. Sharn Kaiser sat beside him, his eyes rested and fatigued. They have run many miles to escape the clutches of their enemy and since then, Seifer and Sharn have done nothing but hide inside a cave of some sort.   
  
"How fine are you?" Seifer asked, standing up slowly.  
  
Sharn opened his eyes and nodded in answer. "Sir, I am but well." He closed his mouth again and took a few more deep breaths. He clutched at his chest and exhaled deeply, then grabbed at his leg and gazed at it for a moment.   
  
Seifer removed his sword from his sheath and examined the young man sitting on the floor carefully, clutching at his leg. "Weapon have you?"  
  
"Aye, sir," he answered. The young soldier reached inside the back of his trousers and took out a small knife, then showed it to his Captain.   
  
"That will not do," the blond said shaking his head, disappointing the young man completely and his hands quickly reached the other side of his belt and took out another sword, which was slightly the same size as his Hyperion and handed it to the three and ten lad. "This belonged to Lorlith. This is as decent as that pint-sized knife of yours. I cannot defend you on my own, so you alone must protect yourself with it, understand?"   
  
Sharn took the sword gratefully. Lorlith's sword, which was slightly thinner than the Hyperion was at best easy for him, since it was lighter and held more power for him to move around. Sharn immediately regained the courage in his heart and his pride became more visible. He stared back at Seifer and smiled. "Thank you, sir," he whispered.  
  
As if an older brother to his younger brother, Seifer patted the thirteen-year-old boy's back and smiled. "We can make it alive, Sharn, if you and I work together, got it?"  
  
Sharn nodded.  
  
The blond Knight, after the lecture he gave the young man, left his spot to check if the way has been cleared for them to walk out of the cave. There was simply no point in staying in the cave for any longer. He longed to return to his Kingdom and be awake with his Queen again.   
  
When he was sure that no one was nearby, Seifer signaled for the young man to follow him. Sharn immediately obeyed and once again, they found themselves on the run for survival in the forest as if the Hunter was hunting the prey.  
  
  
  
****************  
  
  
The news quickly reached the Queen once she received the letter from her Handmaiden. Quistis' hope gleamed as her frown faded to replace it with a smile of joy on her face. She read the letter over and over again, making sure she was not dreaming and when she was certain that the letter was from him, she clutched the letter nearest to her heart and sighed. Soon, her Knight was coming home. Quistis walked to the window and stared at the bright moon winking back at her. She glanced at the letter again and touched the contours of the black ink still wet from the writing. She imagined her beloved Knight writing the letter with all his heart and no one else's.   
  
She placed a hand on her stomach and smiled. "My dearest, soon, your father wilst come home back to us. We will be a family again," she whispered to the life inside her.  
  
  
***************  
  
Hoping to find the end of their escape, Seifer paused and looked around. He expected to return to where they once ran away from, however, the place they found themselves in were unfamiliar to him. A waterfall sat a few feet from them, pouring clear crystals on a small pool with a large school of fish. A tropical jungle scene was now visible before them and Seifer felt the disappointment rising in his heart and his mind. His fear began to rise, but fell once realizing that a young lad was with him and he must be brave for Sharn's sake. In truth, Seifer was the only hope for them left. He glanced behind him at Sharn, who stared back at him with innocent eyes.   
  
Then, he heard the hum of a woman's voice nearby. Seifer and Sharn looked into the pool and, like magic, a woman appeared through the waterfall and strode towards the deep end of the water, carrying a large vase made in ceramic. Her voice was ecstatic and Seifer found himself infatuated by her. He has never seen such a beautiful creature all his life. Her hair was the colour of honey and her eyes gleamed like diamonds, mimicking the pure crystal water.   
  
"Quistis?" Seifer whispered to himself.   
  
"There they are!" a voice growled in the distance, interrupting Seifer's disloyal thoughts. Seifer and Sharn jerked their way to the voice and noticed a few men running towards them dressed in Estharian armor. One man aimed their arrows towards them, mostly at Sharn and shot it with complete accuracy. Seifer threw Sharn on the ground, grabbed him by the arm and dashed away from the enemy.   
  
They ran through the woods, breathing heavily and once again, they were back into the bushes of the old Balamb trees still lingering in the forests. Shadows lurked, danced and faded and the moonlight, as Seifer could tell, was beginning to change into dawn. He let Sharn free from his grasp so the young lad could run on his own and led them both through some more bushes. Pass the sycamore and the Douglas fir and then, lastly, an odd shapely tree. Instead of turning a right from the odd shaped tree, Seifer led Sharn to the left of the tree and when their hopes were beginning to rise, Seifer tripped on something hard and fell back, falling many meters on a large hill that did not seem to end. Sharn was able to stop himself before he could fall and could only watch as Seifer fell distance away from him and was heading straight to a rock. Sharn ran after him, but the slippery rock did not allow him. Sharn too, found himself falling after the blond man.   
  
Seifer attempted to dig his sword into the soft earth, yet could not, for he was falling much too fast and little time was administered for him to on to something. He could see Sharn falling after him and then falling away from him on another direction. Seifer cursed some untamed words and clawed at the ground, but it was to no avail.   
  
Suddenly, something hard hit him on the head. His falling abruptly stopped and the only thing Seifer could remember was falling unconscious on the ground, the blood from the back of his head slowly dripping on the leafy floor. His only thought before he found blackness was his Queen, his love and his companion.  
  
  
  
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Two figures walked cautiously towards the stiff body. One kicked his foot at it, but did not receive any response. The other, after examining the handsome face for a while, looked at the other one.  
  
"What shall we do with him, brother?" she asked, her voice soft and kind. Her dark tresses flew behind her as her eyes met the dark figure looming over the body. She frowned as she watched her brother kicked the body's foot again, making certain that it would not wake up to attack him. "Hoy, brother?" she called.  
  
Her brother looked up as if waking up from a trance and nodded. "Yes. We shall bring him to the Healer," he suggested, grabbing the body's arm. "Help me, sister," he said.  
  
The girl grabbed the other arm and helped her brother lift the body up into a standing position. Once they both succeeded in bringing him into that position, they carried him slowly, but surely towards their village.  
  
  
  
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Cold water startled him from his long sleep. He stood up quickly, his eyes just adjusting to the light and looked around. Water dripped from his face and his eyes were just beginning to find its focus. He noticed two figures staring at him, yet he could not quite understand who they were. One man, tall and large than the other, approached him carefully and nodded his head towards him.  
  
"Hello, I am Nero Preja of the Thunder village. Welcome stranger to our home," the man spoke with a deep accented voice. The man can tell that the welcoming man was trying his hardest to speak his language. Who was he?  
  
"Uh... hello," he said, unsure of what to say. Where was he? "What has happened?" he asked, clutching the pain at the back of his head. "Why am I here?"  
  
"This young man here," Nero said, turning to the man, shorter than him. He placed a hand on the young man's shoulder and smiled proudly at him, then glanced back at the stranger. "Weyon and his sister found you lying on the ground. They carried you all the way here so we can care for you."  
  
The stranger nodded his head at the younger man and lifted his foot to turn his whole body towards the two. He was bare from head to toe and the only thing that kept him from being seen 'fully' was the warmth of a brown, furry blanket. He wrapped the blanket tighter around him, suddenly conscious of his condition and frowned. "Where are my clothes? Did I not wear clothes?"  
  
Weyon nodded soundlessly and walked over to the very end of the bed. He kneeled down and grabbed a tunic and brown trousers from a large tin box and handed it to the stranger. "Here, your clothes. Me and sister give this to you as welcome present." Each of his sentences was cut and was carefully being said by the young man.  
  
The stranger glanced at the shirt handed to him and looked back at the young man. "Thank you," he murmured. He looked around; confusion suddenly gleamed in his eyes. "Who am I?" He looked at the two people standing in front of him.  
  
Weyon and Nero looked at each other. The Healer glanced at the stranger first and frowned. "You have forgotten who you are, stranger?"   
  
The stranger nodded. "Yes. I do not know who I am or why I am here. Do you know who I am?"   
  
Nero shook his head. "It does not matter now. You can stay here with us and so shall you be called, Calik."  
  
"Calik," the stranger with no memory murmured to himself. Weyon glanced at his father and said nothing. Obviously there was something in his mind that he certainly did no approve of.   
  
The stranger, now known as Calik, quickly put on his tunic and trousers and glanced at the two. After careful examination, Nero waved his hand towards Calik and led him out of their hut. Calik was surprised at how many people were walking around, wearing similar attire as he and when he was finished finding himself into a whole new world, his eyes fell upon a lovely woman. Her eyes were the perfect blue, almost reminding him of someone he knew; yet he could not quite put it. Her hair was the perfect honey as they swayed against the warm air. Their eyes met for one moment as if time had slowed down for them. Calik smiled and quickly took his eyes off of her when he noticed Nero staring at him.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Note: AIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! Who is Calik? Well, you can probably guess who. Oh man now what? Oh, this is just getting better and better! Stay tuned!!!!!!! 


	11. Words can be lies

Note: Sorry for the long wait, but I've been busy with stuff like getting ready for my very final exam before I move out of high school! Yes!!!!!!!!! Anyway, who is Calik? Well, you can probably guess who it is cause its SOOO obvious! ENJOY!  
  
  
Chapter 11 - Words can be lies   
  
  
  
The morning sun beamed over the horizon and her eyes opened once the rays hit her face. Her heart skipped with every thought and her lips trembled with fear and content. She could not move, nor could she feel her own breathing against her skin. The day had finally begun and all she could do was watch him die. She was there now, while other spectators watched in amusement of the man who would soon die in the hands of their comrades. One woman glanced to what appears to be her husband and frowned.  
  
"He seems awfully young to die," she spoke in a soft tone. The man looked at her and shook his head, replying with a simple grunt, before turning his attention back to the scene unfolding before them.  
  
Selphie took a deep breath as Zell stepped unto the podium with beads of sweat falling gradually upon his brow. She could only stare and stand there as if frozen in darkness. Her hands and lips trembled in fright, her mind seeing his body hanging and his face blue with death. She had not slept, nor taken a rest on her bed, for she was weary for the day that her loved one would die.   
  
The Queen stood by her, wishing in her every heart that she could do something to calm her friend. She glanced at her and frowned, wrapping her arms around Selphie. "My dear heart I cannot bear to see you in pain. I must insist that you rest in your quarters and-"  
  
"No," Selphie spoke, interrupting the Queen. "I would rather see Zell for the last time, than not see him at all. I want to be here for him when he goes to Heaven."  
  
The blond soldier looked around, hoping to find Selphie standing there, yet his eyes were too clouded with tears of sadness. His tears did not seem detected by the people around him, for they could only see his face straight and relaxed. He knew he could escape; yet he could not for he was not a coward. He lifted his head up tiredly and looked around the crowd for Selphie and when he finally spotted her standing there, he smiled and sighed a breath of relief.   
  
The King stepped up to the podium, followed by the clergyman holding the holy bible and the executioner holding a rope; both draped in black, the sign of death. Irvine stepped in front of the bonded man, while the clergyman stepped in beside him and the executioner on the other. The brown haired King stared at him, then turned to face the crowd.  
  
"People of Balbadia, I have here, the soldier of Estharian who was sent to spy on our beloved Kingdom!" The crowd roared in excitement as Irvine paused, then he continued again once the crowd silenced. "Instead of becoming one of us, he has chosen to die and not serve a King like me, for we know that he will always be our enemy." The King turned to face Zell. "Any last words, young one?"  
  
Zell took a deep breath.  
  
Quistis watched in concern. Death made her ache and sometimes made her wonder why it is so. Why do people have to die? She could not find an answer to that question for every waking moment; she would find more questions that she could not respond to. She heard Selphie gasped. Quistis looked up from her reverie and glanced at Zell, whose eyes were staring straight into Selphie.  
  
"I only wish to say one thing. Selphie..." He kept staring at her. All eyes on the crowd turned their heads towards the Handmaiden. "You must know that I do not love the Duke more than you. My love for him is only of loyalty and nothing more, but my love for you comes from my very soul and being. I see your face everyday and every night when I go to bed. I want to say I love you, Selphie. I will always cherish you in my heart forever." He smiled the last time and hung his head down, his face covered by the hair that fell over his frame.  
  
Floods of tears fell from her eyes. She clutched at her chest and she could feel her heart beating rapidly. She could only watch wide-eyed, shocked beyond disbelief that Zell had declared his undying love for her right at that moment, right before he would die.   
  
Tears fell from Quistis' face as well. The words that came from Zell's mouth were like Seifer's own lips saying those words to her. She felt remorse for the two. Just like her and Seifer, Zell and Selphie's affair could last for only a while, but their love will always last forever, no matter what the consequences.   
  
"Zell Dincht," the King spoke, after a moment of silence. He took a deep breath, glancing once at his wife's flustered handmaiden. It seems she was trying her best to look calm and collected, yet deep down inside, he knew she was heart broken. He turned towards the executioner, and then at the priest, nodding at the middle aged man to proceed with the prayer.   
  
"May God have mercy on your soul," the priest spoke, with a rich and deep tone. He placed a hand on Zell's forehead and spoke a few words of comfort, before stepping back to allow the executioner to the lever. The lever was the turning point of Zell's life, the lever that took between life and death and Zell could only choose one. He gripped his large hands around the lever when he was near it and was about to pull it for the final execution, when a familiar voice screeched into the thin, September air that blasted full amongst the crowd. The crowd murmured to each other, turning their heads to figure out who had screamed incredibly that led to their attention. The executioner, startled by the noise that took place, let go of the lever and looked around, while Irvine glanced at his wife with a question. The priest, however, only stood emotionless, as if he knew who had just spoken.   
  
Finally, when it seemed like forever of waiting, thousands of heads turned to the source of the voice. A woman clothed in a yellow dress pushed her way through the crowd and ran to the podium where the blond soldier was bonded both his hands with thick rope and another rope that went around his neck. Waves of murmurs came flooding as the young woman approached the podium with sheer panic. Tears could be seen from around, the drops of sadness shining underneath the sunlight. She dropped on her knees, wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his stomach as she wept. Soldiers attempted to take her away, but the King dismissed them and told them to let her do what she wished to do. The soldiers were quite confused, but followed his orders anyway and stepped back down from the podium.   
  
The Queen said nothing as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. It was like a play, a tragic love that could not be, which ended in a way that the audience had to guess and contemplate on what would happen next.   
  
"No! Please! Please reconsider, my love! You have so many things still ahead of you and you can't just throw them all away!" Selphie wiped the tears from her eyes and looked into the shameful features of Zell. She placed a hand underneath his chin, lifting his head up so she could see better and frowned. She leaned forward, having to tip toe to speak into his ear and whispered, "I love you too."  
  
Zell looked up suddenly, his eyes searching hers. There was so much pain and turmoil that he could not quite express through words, but through his eyes-only. For once in their whole life being together, they declared their love each other, though the timing was somewhat tragic.   
  
Selphie leaned closer and kissed him on the mouth, with so much love and compassion and so much pain and sorrow, mixed together in a bowl of confusion. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his, then lifted her head up to kiss him on the forehead. "I love you, Zell," she repeated.  
  
The blond man shook his head, but Selphie stopped him and whispered the same words over and over again. "I love you, Zell. I love you so."  
  
Zell was confused. Despite the temptation to go on with death, he could not fight any longer the love they have for each other. The feeling was too great, that he could no longer hold on to Death's hand. The feeling was too great, that his heart could not be taken away by Death himself.   
  
Unable to control the emotions any longer, Quistis approached her husband slowly and placed a hand on his arm to get his attention. "Husband, though he is our enemy and was most willing to serve only his Duke, I believe it is wise to let him go on his own way. The love shared among them cannot be broken by Death, or loyalty. I believe I shall let go of Selphie."  
  
Irvine leaned back to speak back to her. "Then you shall lose your Handmaiden," he whispered, glancing at her.  
  
Quistis nodded. "I am willing to sacrifice anything for her happiness." She wondered sometimes if Selphie would have spoken the same thing about her, but the Queen said nothing of the matter after, staring at Irvine to await his answer.  
  
Finally, after a few more suggestions on his punishment, Irvine decided on his freedom. "But only if you stay in the city and not the Kingdom, not anywhere else," he added, after a few speculations. "I may grant you citizenship here and for thirty days, you may not leave the castle or the city other than important purposes. You may go."  
  
Zell stared at the tall King in puzzlement. There were times that he wished all was perfect, but there was no perfect world and when he lost all hope of the matter, his heart became alive again, realizing he was to live. He felt Selphie kiss his lips immediately and for one swift movement, he wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss.   
  
  
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The night was quiet once again. The fireflies danced like stars in the dark skies and the only noise that made in the delightful aura of the jungle scenery was the cool, clear water. She stared into the night sky, resting her head on her arms and relaxing her whole body on the cool, green grass. Her eyes managed to close, when she felt someone coming towards her and then sitting down beside her. She opened her eyes, her emerald pupils searching through the dark and finding her vision towards a very familiar figure staring back at her.  
  
"Is this where you find peace?" he asked, his voice, deep and sultry. He ran a hand through his golden locks, taking a deep breath during the process and lifted his head up into the night sky.   
  
She nodded her head in answer, sitting up from the comfort of her position and stared at him. "Your name is Calik, is that correct?" she asked softly, unwilling to disturb the peace swimming in the waters.  
  
He nodded. "Yes, I am he. I only know of you as Weyon's sister, but I do not know what I shall call you." He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and glanced at her, the golden tresses that blew pass her, mesmerizing him. There was something about the woman that made him feel attraction, something he has seen and felt before.   
  
"I am Terris," she replied, smiling. She turned her head back towards the waters and wrapped her arms around her legs.   
  
He stared at her. The way she looked reminded him of someone else, yet he could not quite put it. He could see a woman, dressed in a beautiful dress, with a golden crown upon her head. The only beautiful feature about her was her wonderful smile like the sun that would melt all the dark clouds away. He was ready to speak again, when Terris spoke once more.  
  
"You do not remember how I came to find you in the woods?"  
  
Calik shook his head. "I wish I knew, yet my mind is full of vague memories which I cannot sweep away. Maybe if I keep walking deeper into my mind, I will find it."  
  
"I can help you," Terris said. She turned head body around to face him.  
  
The blond stared at her. Before he could question, Terris had already placed both her hands on her temple and closing her eyes in concentration. He was quite surprised at her action, yet he did not protest. He did not make any attempts to move or feel uncomfortable for her hands became a comfort and safety of his mind. For what seemed like forever, he saw everything. He saw a beautiful woman, but only for a short period of time, then she disappeared again.   
  
Light surrounded the two.   
  
Unable to bear it any longer, he removed his head from Terris and backed away, gasping for breath. The power was immense and his mind was a swirl of emotions when he saw the woman that flashed in his visions. He did not know what to make of it, but he wished so much to know why it was so. Who was this woman?  
  
Standing up, Calik cleared his throat and looked down on the woman. "I apologize for that, but it will be dark soon and I think it would be best to take a rest now. Good night." Without a second thought, he bowed his head and walked away. For some strange reason, he needed to bow his head at the presence of a lady and when he turned a corner, he heard a scream from behind him. He turned around quickly, his eyes widening when he noticed a large marine-like monster, with large tentacles expanding for at least fifty meters. He was in more realization that Terris was at its grip and she was losing air. Calik attempted to run to her, but the monster had spotted him, sweeping one of its tentacles under the floor to trip him. He tripped and fell on his rear; however, he quickly lifted himself up, glancing once at Terris, her face turning blue. The monster gripped its tentacles tightly around her, making her face more purple than blue now.   
  
"Terris!" He heard a shout from beside him. Calik turned to find her older brother running towards the monster. He sliced his sword through the tentacle that held his sister in the air; however, it did not make that much damage. More people, men and women, appeared, running pass the shocked stranger, their swords brandished high above their heads and making a few slices through all the tentacles present on land. In the many attempts, none could penetrate the monster's dangerous assault. Calik watched on, without any indication that he stood, doing nothing at all to help the people. He stared at Terris' face, still pressured with purple from the gripping green hands. One woman, wearing almost nothing (maybe so she could move quick), sliced through the base of the body, hoping to trip it, but it was to no avail. Another tentacle charged towards her and she flew into the air, landing roughly on the grassy ground. Her sword slipped from her hands, landing close to Calik. He looked down at the shiny weapon, bending down slowly to pick it up. With his large hand, he gripped the handle and stared at it, his face furrowing in memory. Something in his mind quickly relinquished of his memories and before he knew it, his feet began to move towards the monster. He gripped his other hand around the handle of the sword and lifted it high above his head, his heart beating a thousand drums.   
  
The warriors watched as Calik ran with unimaginable speed towards the monster. He swung his sword from left to right and vice-versa and with incredible stamina and speed, he sliced through all of its tentacles, removing them one by one. He quickly moved away from the attempts the monster was making and rushed forward towards the monster's mouth. It did not have time to move as the sword gored through it, starting from its tongue and to the top of his eyes, killing him instantly. The monster screamed in response to the enormous pain and it fell backwards into the water dead. Calik watched as it sunk deeper into the water, gasping for breath. With so much energy consumed from his fight, he was forced to close his eyes and when nothing else mattered, he collapsed on the ground.  
  
  
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The night seemed darker these days every time she looked up at the stars. Selphie was no longer there to comfort her dying heart. It was two days now after her knight wrote to her, telling her that he was fine. Why has he not come back? She asked this same question every chance she had as she walked to her balcony to stare into the outside world. Each time her eyes scanned the area; it was nothing but green grass. She hoped to find him walking to the castle, injured but alive, however, as she kept on watch, there no sign of him, until that one night she began to lose hope did she finally see a figure walk in the darkness. The figure stumbled and fell and she was not certain whether it was him, neither was he friend or foe.   
  
With her heart beating, she ran out of her quarters and into the night, making her way to the front gate. She glanced up at the very top of the wall, where the night watchman was supposed to be standing on guard, only to find him sleeping on the job. His head leaned back; his arm awkwardly slumped over the chair he sat on.  
  
Slightly annoyed, the Queen lifted the front of her dress and ran up the stairs, putting a hand on the watchman's shoulder, and then shaking him as gently as she could.  
  
"Rasu!" she called.  
  
The man opened his eyes, lifting his head up from the sleeping position and looked around tiredly. "Wha-? What?" His eyes wandered off from left to right, then finally to the front, where his Queen stared at him.  
  
"If you wish to be a night watchman, Rasu, I expect you to do your job right, without your eyes heavy with fatigue. Stand!" she commanded, rather sternly. "There is someone approaching the castle."  
  
Rasu's eyes widened. He ran to the wall, lifting his glass spectacle into his eye and stared into the open field. Indeed, there was a figure staggering towards the castle. The young watchman glanced at the Queen and nodded. He walked to the left of the watchman post and looked down towards another man guarding the gate. "Kanen! There is someone approaching the castle!"   
  
Kanen, a forty year old, brown haired man, opened his eyes. To Artur's relief the Queen did not make an attempt to see that Kanen had fallen asleep as well. "What is it?" he asked, groggily. "Friend or foe?"  
  
Artur lifted his spectacles back in his eye. After another observation, his head popped once again at Kanen's view and nodded. "He is indeed a friend. He wears King Irvine's emblem marked across his chest. His armor is similar to that of a Balbadian."  
  
Without another word from his young companion, Kanen placed his hands on the lever and drew the large gate. The Queen, unnoticed by the older man, ran outside, hoping it would be him, but as she approached him, she realized that the figure was younger than her Knight and was injured terribly. He stared at her, mumbling a few words, before falling forward. Quistis was able to catch him before he could reach the ground and, with the help of Rasu and Kanen, carried him back inside the castle. Once there, Rasu let go of the man, adding more weight and less hands to the young, but large man and closed the gate back. Irvine appeared a moment later, taking the Queen's spot, before she was no longer able to carry him and aided Kanen carry the wounded to a safer spot, which was near the water fountain. The Queen ripped a part of her skirt, deciding on helping the young man heal the wounds inflicted on his right hip and soaked the cloth from the water in the fountain. The King and Kanen settled the young man on the stone fountain, helping him to sit up and stared at him, while the Queen dabbed cold water on his wound.   
  
"What news have you?" the King asked, removing himself from the young man, before standing up to look at him.   
  
The young man said nothing for a few moments, until he opened his mouth to speak. "I bring news that Sir Seifer and I have escaped the ravenous Estharians. We managed to escape through the woods, but Sir Seifer and I were separated. I have lost him. I am sorry." He glanced at the Queen with a solemn expression.  
  
Without regarding the look he gave the Queen, Irvine kneeled down in front of the young man and frowned. "Tell me your name."  
  
He took a deep breath. "I am Sharn Kaiser, your highness," he replied. Sharn winced when the cloth made contact with his wound.   
  
Quistis glanced at her husband. "My love, he needs medical attention. We must bring him to the healer quickly."  
  
Irvine nodded. He sat back down beside Sharn, wrapping his arms around his waist and helped Kanen help the young man on his feet. They walked inside the castle, followed behind by Quistis and entered the healer's quarters, which was only a few doors from the Queen.  
  
Quistis watched on as they carried the young man inside the room. She paused by the door, holding back tears that threatened to fall. 'No! I will not accept it! I will not! He is not lost. He has not gone to heaven. He promised to return to me!' Without a moment hesitation, the Queen turned around and fled towards the only destination she could think of.  
  
Selphie, she thought.  
  
The King walked out of the room a few seconds later, only to find the Queen absent. "Quistis?" he called.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Finally finished that chapter! Sorry for the long wait! I've been soooooooooo busy with stuff! Well, want to know what happened to 'Calik' after that? You'll find out soon enough so stay tuned! 


	12. The Truth Hurts

Author's Note: Wow... it's been a long time everyone! The reason why, is because I just got soooo excited now that I've graduated, that I didn't even sit down and write the continuation of my stories. As you all know that fanfiction.net has been down so many times every time I go in there, but no fret, I worked on all my stories while it was out so you don't have to wait any longer! Here is the continuation of that wonderful fic- Medieval!!!!!! Yeay! Come on everyone! Jump around!  
  
  
  
Chapter 12 - The Truth Hurts   
  
  
  
The touch of the morning breeze woke him up from a deep slumber. He squinted his eyes slowly, blinking a couple of times, before finally opening them to a new light that blinded him. Lifting up his hand to block the rays of light that poked through, Calik sat up from bed and looked around tiredly. How long has he been asleep?   
  
The sound of the flapping tent startled him. He jerked his head around to find an old man, whom he, for a moment, forgotten and when he realized whom it was; he gave him a questioning look.  
  
"How are you feeling, my lad?" he asked, stepping forward.  
  
Calik nodded his head. "I am fine. What has happened?"  
  
"You were brave," was the man's only respond.  
  
Confused, Calik stared into his eyes and got off of the bed. "What do you mean?"  
  
The man dressed in animal fur walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, grinning. "I mean, you rescued my dear Terris from danger, which means I give you permission to take her hand in marriage."  
  
The young man's eyes widened. "Marriage?" There was no mistake that he had grown attraction to the young woman, but marriage to such an early age was something he cannot comprehend. Something deep in his heart was telling him it was far too late.   
  
The older man nodded. "Yes. Come with me and you shall meet her." He turned around and left the room, followed by the blond.  
  
There was shock the moment Calik stepped out of the tent. People from all over the village gathered around him, each man and women patting him on the back as he walked by. Nero led him through the crowd casually, until they were in the very middle of the village, surrounded by the people staring at them. Calik felt overwhelmed by the attention as the people began to whisper to each other. His confusion was even more satisfying, many questions running in his mind on what was going to happen to him?   
  
The blond man felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and noticed two young women putting a silk, snakeskin shirt on him. Calik could only stand and watch curiously as the women continued to dress him in a formal fashion. They kept his regular black pants on, though his black shirt was now covered in the white polo shirt, with the buttons all the way to the base of his neck. He glanced at Nero and furrowed his eyebrows. Despite his thoughts on refusing the proposal, without his own permission whether he wanted to get married or not, he went along with it. He was afraid that if he turned it down, the people would be very disappointed and this village was the only place he has called 'home' so far. If he left it, then there are no other places he was able to live in. Calik unbuttoned the first button near his neck and took a deep breath. The morning was already going by so quickly and he had no time to speak to them at all.   
  
When he was dressed up, Nero placed a hand on his shoulder and grinned. "Follow me, lad. You shall soon see your bride-to-be."  
  
Calik nodded and followed Nero to his tent, which was the largest out of all the tents in the village to indicate his superiority. He went inside with wonder and mostly, curiosity on where the old man was taking him. The tent itself was small, with its beautiful designs mostly made of animal fur that he guessed they hunted for both food and clothing. The tent was made of bear fur and cedar tree that kept it standing above their heads and the ground was made from more fur, which, in his guess came from a large moose or a buffalo. Above him, hung a lantern made of silver metal that they probably refined themselves so it can be strong for the winter. Calik looked beyond the books, pass the small, empty table and found he staring at an attractive young woman dressed in a marvelous white fur dress. The dress made her shoulders bare and showed her perfect curves that he has never seen before from her. He looked beyond her dress and lifted his eyes to her face. He saw the familiarity of Terris' face. "Ter-Terris, is that you?" he gasped, trying to keep his mouth closed from gaping.   
  
Terris blushed and grabbed the sides of her dress, then curtsied. "Yes, 'tis I, Sir Calik. I have waited here for you until my father brought you to me." She looked up and smiled widely.   
  
Calik smiled back, though he felt a churn in his stomach that he could not remove. Marriage? He cleared his throat, thinking of that word and glanced at Nero. "Sir Nero, I know that marriage is a custom to you when a man rescues a woman from danger, but-"  
  
"You are part of our village, Sir Calik and whatever laws here in the village are acquired, it must be followed by a member of this village." Nero stared at him, overwhelming the shorter blond. Nero may have aged, but his brute strength and stature still stayed with him. He was ten times larger than himself and that was something he certainly did not want to face.   
  
The large man placed a hand on the small of his daughter's back and gently pushed her towards the newest stranger. Smiling, the daughter took Calik's hand and squeezed it gently. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for rescuing me, Calik. Being a wife to you will be my payment for your bravery."  
  
Calik had no choice but to smile and nod. He stared into her eyes and recognition of someone appeared in them. This someone was the same face that he saw while trying to rethink about who he was and where he came from. The same blue eyes, blond hair, height and feature, relived within this young woman and he could not help but stare.   
  
It was only moments now until they are to be wed.  
  
  
  
  
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She wept and thought about screaming to the Gods of how they could have done this to her of all people? Why does fate exist in such a cruel fashion? "Selphie........ I have been weeping for as long as I can remember and I cannot seem to wipe it all away with one hand, but two. My heart has been broken for him and my hopes are losing, thinking that I have lost him forever."  
  
The former handmaiden placed a hand on her head and stroked her gold tresses gently. She glanced over to her love, whose been sitting quietly on the bed and lifted a mournful lip into a smile. "My dear Queen, I feel ill seeing you like this, but you must not lose hope for losing hope will only make the false come true."  
  
Quistis lifted her eyes up to her friend. She wiped the tears from her eyes and forced a smile on her face. "You're right, Selphie. I must send a search party to look for my dear Knight."  
  
Selphie nodded. "That is the wisest of you, Your Highness. Then do what you must and send someone capable of searching for someone dear you lost."  
  
The blond Queen smiled and sat up so her eyes were at the same level as her Handmaiden and pulled her in for an embrace. "You are my dearest friend, Selphie, thank you." She glanced over at Zell and smiled. "Zell, you are lucky to have someone as kind as Selphie."  
  
"Not to mention, beautiful," he spoke, winking at the blushing Handmaiden.  
  
Quistis smiled and glanced at Selphie. "I must go on now for the King will be worried for me. Good bye, my sweet." She leaned over and kissed Selphie on the cheek, then walked out of the house and into the darkness.  
  
  
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"Ah, there you are," his deep voice echoed in the darkness. He watched her approach him as he stood outside the room where the young boy was taken in. Quistis forced a smile towards her husband and glanced over his shoulder to look at the young soldier lying on the bed, his eyes closed in a deep slumber. "Where have you gone?" he asked.  
  
Quistis smiled. "I went to go for a walk for I was weary to think that our old friend, Seifer could be dead."  
  
Irvine shook his head. "Nay, he is not dead. He is alive, so says this young boy," he said, nodding his head towards Sharn. "They have been separated, but proof has it that Seifer is still alive."  
  
"Truly?" she asked, glancing quickly at the young boy.   
  
Irvine nodded. "Yes. I will send some men now to search for him. The young boy told me that they have lost each other somewhere in the forest area, however I am not certain which it is. I will have to command a search from all over the forest." He gave his wife a sweet embrace, before leaving her alone in her thoughts.  
  
Quistis watched him go and when he disappeared in the darkness, she turned her head inside the room where the boy rested and stepped inside. A young woman with dark tresses was bathing him with warm water around the wound inflicted upon him and she looked up to find the Queen standing there silently.   
  
"Your Highness..." She bowed her head and continued to wipe the dirt off of the young man.  
  
Quistis approached the boy silently and looked down. "Is he able to speak?"  
  
The young maiden leaned over and stroked his hair gently. Sharn immediately opened his eyes at the sign of a touch and looked up to see the blond Queen staring at him. He wearily lifted up his head towards her and forced a smile on his face. "Your Highness... I must tell you-" He gasped, the pain at his side worsening. The young woman worriedly lifted up his shirt and stared at a large wound. She looked up at the Queen.  
  
Quistis stared at the woman and noticed the gash. She shook her head at the young man and kneeled down beside the bed. She placed a hand on his lips to stop him from speaking any further. "You must not speak, young one. You must save your energy come tomorrow for your wound is a danger to your life."  
  
The young boy shook his head and lifted up a hand to remove the Queen's hand from his mouth. "No, I must tell you now, before it is too late. I have seen him being taken by strangers from the village. I have seen it all with my own eyes. He does not know himself...." He closed his eyes and frowned. "I have failed him-," he murmured. "I have failed him."  
  
Quistis leaned over and stroked the young lad's hair. "How have you failed him? There was nothing you could do to save him by yourself. There were men after you and you had no choice but to run. He told you to run from danger and that is what you did. You followed his orders, because he knew it was better for you to be safe for a young boy like you." She glanced at him and noticed his head had tipped away from her, his eyes shut in despair. He had fallen asleep. The Queen gazed at the young maiden and nodded. "Make him well, Rinoa," she spoke softly, then stood up and left the room quietly.  
  
  
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Hours had passed that the ceremony ended of their wedding. Nero led them to his daughter's tent to 'fulfill' their wedding night and to 'fulfill' his dreams of having many grandchildren. Calik and Terris entered the tent with heavy breathing, one with confusion and the other with nervousness. When they were inside, Terris turned and began to undress herself, but Calik immediately grabbed her hand from reaching the top of her clothes and shook his head.  
  
"Must we do this?" he whispered in her ear as he leaned close to her.  
  
Terris smiled and looked into his eyes. She leaned over and kissed him full on the lips. "Yes," she whispered back. "When a man and a woman have become husband and wife, they must fulfill their duties by embracing each other in a night of passion."  
  
Calik sighed. "This is a duty?"  
  
Terris giggled and leaned over once again to kiss him on the lips, however, Calik stepped back to look at her. "What, am I not your wife to you?" There was a slight anger raging in her voice.  
  
Calik shook his head. "You seem nervous, Terris. Do you wish to do this?"  
  
The blond girl stepped closer. "Of course." She attempted to wrap her arms around him, only to be pushed gently away by the tall man. Terris folded her arms across her chest and turned her head away to frown. "No," she admitted. "My father wishes it and I do not want to disappoint him."  
  
The taller blond walked towards her and placed a hand underneath her chin. He lifted her head up to look at him and tears of sadness fell from her eyes. "This is not about your father, Terris. This is about you and your happiness."  
  
The young woman closed her eyes. "If I do not make my father proud, then I shall be shunned from this place and never to return again. I do not wish to leave my brother or my friends here." She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. "You must understand, Calik."  
  
"Do you love me?" he asked.  
  
"The- the moment I set my eyes on you," she stammered. Saying those words were overwhelming and as she looked into his eyes, he saw the surprise on his face. She looked down shyly and smiled. "What do you think of me now?"  
  
Calik smiled. "I think you will make a lovely wife..." He stared into familiar eyes. Eyes that he has seen before, but could not quite see who it was. Through her he saw someone else and he leaned closer to kiss the young woman full on the lips.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Calik is kissing Terris! Could they have gone through with it? Or was Calik mesmerized by Terris' looks that he saw someone else??? Hm.................. Find out on the next chapter!!!! 


	13. In The Heat of Battle

Note: Hey, where are my Seiftis fans? Why aren't any of you reading this? J/k! LOL. Anyway, the last time we left off was...*gasp* Seifer kissing Terris! Woah! Let's see... here you'll find out if they ever went through with it or not so hold on to your seats everyone!  
  
  
  
Chapter 13 - In The Heat of Battle   
  
  
  
In the midst of the morning light, a hand stretched out as another day broke out into the fields. She rested her tired arms on the bed and turned her head towards the window. The curtain freely flapped about, welcoming the morning breeze inside the small quarters. Months passed and still no news of her Knight. That one fateful day when the King returned from the search, he had shook his head and frowned, giving no sign that he has found his faithful companion among the dead or even among the living. Tears suddenly soaked her charming face. She lifted her hands up to wipe the wetness from her skin and sat up from bed. Bringing her eyes down to her body, she placed a hand on her stomach and sighed. Soon, the child will be born into the world, without a knowledge of his real father. He will only know his father as ruler of Balbadia and not as the courageous knight who fought bravely and died a hero. She had a reason to believe now that he had died.  
  
"Your highness?" Quistis glanced up and noticed her left handmaiden approaching her with a smile. Her silken raven hair flowed down her back and her midnight blue dress showed her perfect complexion. It makes Quistis wonder sometimes why Rinoa was never a Princess or related to any type of royalty.  
  
"Yes?" the blond Queen answered quietly.  
  
Rinoa kept her smile and walked towards her slowly. With a little curtsey, she glanced at Quistis' large stomach and grinned. "How is the little one in there?" she asked, her Scottish accent showing.   
  
Quistis nodded, keeping her hands on her stomach. "He is kicking rather widely, but it shows how strong he is, like his father."   
  
The raven-haired girl smiled and nodded. She knew everything about whom the father was; yet she kept it quiet in front of the Queen. She would be very angry if she mentioned that Selphie had told her about it. "Yes." She paused and opened her mouth again to speak. However, before she could speak once more, she noticed the Queen was hunched over forward and was touching her stomach in pain. Water seeped from her dressing gown and to the floor. Rinoa's eyes widened. It was time now. "Your highness!" she yelled. She ran beside the Queen and took her hand, leading her back to her bed. Carefully, she helped her up on the bed and laid her down. Quistis yelped in pain, clutching at her stomach and feeling the baby move wildly. Rinoa had already left quickly to get the King and the older handmaidens who were more experienced in delivering a baby.   
  
Quistis closed her eyes tight and clenched her fists in agony, the palm of her hands reddening as she tightened her hold on the bed sheets. Another pain raged through her body. She opened her legs wider and screamed as loud as she could.  
  
A few seconds later, the King and three handmaidens, including Rinoa entered the room. Irvine immediately set his place beside Quistis, grabbing her hand for support. The oldest handmaiden, Edea, who had been a mother to Quistis since her mother died, took her place to where the baby was being taken out. Rinoa and another handmaiden both stood on either side of the older woman. Edea glanced at Quistis and smiled.  
  
"Quistis dear, I want you to close your mouth as tight as you can and start pushing after my count, all right?" she said.  
  
The blond nodded. She gripped Irvine's hand tight and closed her teeth together, then closed her eyes and waited for Edea's count. Once she heard the older woman finish her counting from three to one, Quistis pushed as much as she could with all the strength she could muster. Edea told her to push and Quistis did as she was told. Irvine stood, comforting her with all he could and trying not to think of his crushed hand against Quistis' strong grip.   
  
After what seemed like hours, Quistis gave her one last sigh and closed her eyes shut, resting her head back on the pillow. A baby's cry was heard nearby and a few gasps and 'awws' could be heard. Irvine leaned down and kissed his wife's forehead. She smiled, feeling the kiss. Sweat poured from the sides of her face and tired eyes closed tight. Quistis took one glance at his son and went to sleep after many hours of labor.  
  
The spectators present in the room smiled longingly at the baby held now in Irvine's arms. A strand of blond hair stood on end and small, twinkling eyes blinked a couple of times, before stretching out his tiny hand and crying as much as he could. Edea slowly cut the cord attached to its stomach and placed him back to his father's arms. Irvine rocked him back and forth and smiled lovingly at the baby in his arms. He glanced at Quistis sleeping on the bed and grinned.  
  
"What shall you call him?" came Rinoa's voice after a quiet solitude.  
  
Irvine shook his head. "I do not know, but I may call him Seifer, after my good friend who died bravely in battle. However, I will let my wife name him." He gave the baby to Edea and sat down beside Quistis on the bed. Irvine placed a hand on her forehead and stroked her hair gently. "Sleep well, my dear wife," he whispered. "I will wait until you awake for the name of the baby. For now, he will be somewhere safe."  
  
  
  
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He suddenly sat up from bed as if waking up from a nightmare. However, he did not wake up from a dream. He woke up from something else. He felt something odd. Seifer glanced at the sleeping form beside him and reached up to stroke its fur. A head sprang up suddenly and looked towards him, its eyes glowing in the darkness.  
  
"It's all right boy, there is nothing to worry about. I'm just going for a walk." He stood up and grabbed his long coat from the ground and put it on slowly. He grabbed the sword given to him by the blacksmith as a 'wedding gift' for the two couples. The blond haired man walked out of his tent and stared into the distant horizon. Another morning had come and another day for a little walk and to think. How long has he been waiting for his past to come? How long has he been exiled from the village he has known? The woman he had forced to marry did not seem like the one for him. His memories kept coming back to that same woman and though blond, Terris did not compare to the beauty this woman was. Her long blond hair, her piercing blue eyes, her supple lips and off shoulder dress and jeweled crown made her real in his heart, but his eyes made him believe something else. Seifer walked through the forest and made his way to the lake. Somehow, the lake made him remember about the past and about this woman that appeared in his mind every night. For months, he has been alone in the world and though he has his chocobbo as a companion, it did not feel the same being with someone.   
  
Upon arriving, Seifer sat down on the ground and stared down on the clear, blue water. The wind blew his hair back and the cold weather made him shiver. It was, as usual, very quiet in this area. The waterfall ahead was the only thing that made a noise as it splashed against the rock below. He sighed and stared at nothing for a few minutes, before he was suddenly interrupted by a crunch from behind. Seifer grabbed his sword from its hilt and stood up as fast as lightning, aiming the sharp end towards a small and delicate neck.   
  
"Are you going to kill your wife, Seifer?" she whispered, the voice muffled from the frightened breathing she made.  
  
Seifer frowned and put his sword back in its sheath. He turned around and sighed. "What are you doing here, Terris?" he asked.  
  
Terris took a deep breath, hugging herself. "I was just worried about my husband, that's all." She walked up beside him and stared at the waterfall. "Seifer, I missed you."  
  
The blond shook his head. "No, you are forced to miss me so I can come back to you," he replied.  
  
The blond woman frowned. "That's not fair. I do love you so, Seifer. I can't stop thinking about you- even after a few months. You have no idea how much I cried when you left without a word."  
  
"I'm sorry, Terris, I cannot love you back and I have already spoken to you about it. I need to find myself and who I am. I feel like I do not know who I am and I need to know." Calik glanced to the woman and placed a sympathetic look towards his bride. He remembered rejecting sleeping with his wife, for him, it didn't feel right. It was as if someone else was there waiting for him, but who? Nero had literally pushed him out the door and banished him from the village when he heard these words spoken. For months, he has lived in exile in a deserted cave, with his only companion, who could take him anywhere on the land, sea and mountains. He had never seen one so rare. While living in the village, he had seen different types of the birds which could walk on two legs, some, Nero had explained, could only walk on sea, some on land and some high in the mountains. But the one Calik found, was special. It gleamed with a golden colour and could walk on any place he wished him to walk on. He patted the Chocobbo's furry neck and leapt up on its back, without taking a glance at Terris. "You best go home. Your father will wonder where you have gone off to."  
  
Terris shook her head. "I want to come with you."  
  
Calik turned his head towards her and frowned. "This is no time to be stubborn, Terris. There are many dangers lurking in this forest and I have seen many."  
  
The blond woman clenched her fists at her sides. "Tell me then! Where will you go?"   
  
The man shook his head, adjusting his sword at his side. "I am not certain. But I know I have to go somewhere. You need not come with me. I can only endanger your life. Terris, I am not the man for you and you are not the woman for me. I'm sorry." He grabbed the reigns of the Chocobbo and kicked gently at it sides into a trot. Without another glance, he commanded for the Chocobbo to go faster and headed North through the forest. Terris watched in fear and sadness. She loved him and will always love him.  
  
  
  
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The rays of the sun spread throughout the desolate fields. The people of Balbadia woke up from their dreams, but one had awakened with a start from his nightmare. With tired eyes, he looked around wearily, calling his lover's name, but she would not respond. He glanced to his side, hoping she was there, but she was not. His nightmare. The nightmare he had last night, often meant something. A man dressed all in black, with thousands of men, gathered at the hilltops of the Gressollar Fields, just West of Balbadia. He wished it was only a dream, but he felt the worst.  
  
A large blast startled him. Zell frantically called for his lover and she came out of the privy with glowing and frightened eyes. "Zell! What was that blast?!" Selphie yelped, running quickly to Zell's side. She wrapped her arms around him and shivered.  
  
Zell stroked her back and frowned, shaking his head. "I do not know, Selphie. However, I know it means danger. We must leave this castle at once."  
  
"Where will we go?" Selphie looked up and frowned. "Any city is in danger of this war between them. Oh Zell!" She buried her face against his chest. "Why does war have to happen? Why do men have to die to prove something?"  
  
Zell closed his eyes. "I do not know, Selphie, but there is not time for us to question these for it will be long until we find the answers to them. Let us pack quickly and head for Timber."  
  
Selphie nodded and headed for the closet to grab a large bag made of Moose Skin. She gathered all her important belongings quickly inside, including Zell's extra clothes and looked at him, who was already dressed in his tunic and pants. After a few seconds, they were now walking through the isolated streets of the Fish market. The two looked around cautiously, careful not to run into Estharian Soldiers. They had thought that the Soldiers already made it inside the town, but Selphie and Zell were not staying long to find out. Zell took Selphie's hand in his and led her out, with Selphie's instructions on where to go, since she knew the City well. They turned a couple more streets, until they found the source of the blast. It cracked open a wall and, much to Selphie's shock, bodies were scattered on the floor from the blast, many which were women and children. She wished they didn't have to pass this way, but there was no other way to go to the back gates.   
  
"They are using their cannons," Zell spoke, his voice shallow in her ears. Selphie heard another shot, one that started farther away, but was soon getting closer and closer. She held tightly unto Zell's hand and looked up in fear, imagining the large cannon landing on her and Zell. "Don't worry, they attack in different places, not the same one. If we keep close to the damages, then we are safe."  
  
Selphie nodded silently. She told the blond to turn left and he did so, gripping tightly and gently at Selphie's hand. She saw a few more dead men and women surrounding the grounds of the courtyard. There was a man whose head had been severed due to the explosion and a woman, who was holding a child, both dead, with their arms and legs blown away. Selphie took deep breaths, trying her hardest not to feel ill. Is this what war is? Death? Murder to many innocent lives?  
  
They passed a couple more bodies, when they heard a faint cry in the distance. The faint cry of a small child. Selphie glanced at Zell, her eyes glowing in shock. Zell understood what she meant and led her to the source of the cries. At the corner of the courtyard, they found a small girl, about three years old, kneeling next to her mother, crying. Her hair was disheveled, but luckily, there were no injuries on her, only some blood in her hands, probably from touching her mother's bloody face. Zell and Selphie moved towards her. Selphie kneeled next to the girl, while Zell went to her mother to check on her pulse. Zell glanced at Selphie and shook her head.   
  
"It will be all right now, little one," Selphie whispered, picking up the three year old in her arms. "We will take care of you." Zell stood next to her and grinned at the little girl. The girl only sniffed, more tears flooding her eyes. Selphie wiped her tears away and hugged her close. "It will be all right now. You will be safe with us. What is your name?" She pulled back to look into her eyes.  
  
The little girl said nothing for a while, until she opened her mouth to speak. "Nadia," she replied, rubbing a hand over her tired eyes. Selphie smiled and kissed her cheek.  
  
"It will be all right now, Nadia," Zell said, taking Selphie's free hand. Selphie held tightly on the girl and headed for the right direction, leaving Nadia's dead mother behind. Selphie chocked back tears with all her strength. How can this have ever happened? Do not they understand that little children are the future? How can children have a future if they die in the war?   
  
The thickness of the smoke from the blasts still lingered in their nostrils as they finally made it to the back gate. The air grew stale and cold from the dead that laid flat on the floor and Selphie could still smell the thick smell of blood from the carcasses that were now filled with flies searching for their meal. She glanced at Nadia, who had now fallen asleep in her arms. The little girl must have cried for hours, she thought as she watched Zell quietly opened the gate. She could hear the creak of the wooden door and she inhaled the smell of green grass in the open air. Selphie paused for a moment and glanced towards the castle.   
  
"I hope the Queen and her son made it alive," she spoke. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Selphie glanced back in front of her and found Zell nodding.  
  
"I'm sure she and her son made it alive. Right now, we need to protect this girl," he said, nodding towards Nadia. "She has seen too much."  
  
Selphie nodded and followed Zell out into the quiet fields of future.  
  
  
  
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The war had grown brutal. Quistis clutched tightly at Russell and ran through the dark hallway. Another blast almost sent her to the ground, but she prevailed and kept on running. How did it come to this? She was awakened by a blast and before she knew it, Rinoa burst inside, with the baby in her arms and handed him to his real mother. "Follow me," she had said. Quistis had no time to question, so with all her strength, followed suit as Rinoa led her to one of the secret rooms she barely knew about. When they turned a corner, the dark haired girl suddenly disappeared, leaving her all alone. She did not know where she was going, but she knew she had to get there somehow. Ahead, she heard muffled voices. Quistis paused suddenly and squinted her eyes to see two figures, one a man and the other a woman. She hid behind a wall, close enough for her to hear the resounding voices of the two.  
  
"Where are they now? Why have you lost them?" a deep voice spoke, sounding rather annoyed. Quistis turned her face silently towards the figure. The man did not look that tall, but he seemed to be wearing the cloak of Royalty.   
  
"I do not know, but I'll find them," a woman spoke. Quistis found the voice awfully familiar, but she could not quite put it. She heard it before.   
  
"Yes you do that. I do not want to kill you, but if I have to, I will."  
  
"No, please do not do that. I love you, you know that." The blond watched as the two embraced, making Quistis wince. Something was definitely mysterious. She knew the voice. Why can she not name her?   
  
The man stooped his neck low and kissed her on the lips passionately. "I know you do. But sometimes I do need to kill you if I need to and you give me no choice." She heard a knife being sheathed from his side. Quistis gasped as the knife went right through her heart. She could hear the woman gasp in shock and despair as she fell on her knees. The man only watched with a cold, reacting nothing to the woman who was falling dead on the floor. "You are useless," he spoke, then turned and never glanced at the woman again. "I'll look for her myself!" His voice echoed throughout the desolate hallway. When she was sure he was gone, Quistis slowly crept towards the body of the woman and was shocked beyond belief. Rinoa laid on the ground with the knife still lodged through her heart. She had blood from the corner of her mouth and Quistis could not help but feel remorse and angry at the same time. How could she have done such a thing? She was to lead her to the man ready to kill her and her child? She knew she deserved something, but not to die. Quistis frowned, tears now flooding her eyes.  
  
"Rinoa... I wish you had never done it. Was this all because of that man who killed you? May the Gods be with you," she whispered.   
  
"Yes and soon your son will be," a deep voice said. Quistis turned around and gasped. The man had never left. Was this all a big lie? Was Rinoa really dead? As if reading her thoughts, the man stepped forward and shook her head. He glanced at the dead body of the girl. "She was beautiful, but I should not have given her to the job to be your Handmaiden. I believe she had grown fond of you, which is why she grew useless. I guess I have to do it on my own now." He drew a long sword from his side and looked at Quistis and the baby.  
  
Quistis clutched tightly at the child, the baby now crying as loud as it wanted. She could tell the baby was hungry. "Hush now, little one," she whispered to him. "You will be fed soon."  
  
"Give up the child now, Quistis and maybe I will let you live. Maybe." He grinned, his eyes glowing with the mixture of red and orange.   
  
Quistis frowned and shook her head. Without another glance, she quickly turned around and ran as fast as she could back towards another direction. Maybe if she kept running, she'll eventually find a way out. She could hear the footsteps of the man, just close behind, but there was no time for her to listen. She needed to escape from him. Fast, or her son will be at the end of the man's deadly blade.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Who will save poor Quisty from harm? Seifer? Remember, he may not have gotten his memory back. Irvine? He went off to fight in the war, didn't he? Or just a mysterious stranger? Find out on the next chapter! Yeay! Almost done!!!!!!!! 


	14. Searching The Truth

Note: I know it's been a long time, but I have been busy! Just want to tell you that I am alive and well and that my fanfics are still going, so don't be disappointed now! I will be done and by the time this is done, I think I'm going to repeat my 'M' ideas like last year, which I didn't really finish. If you don't remember anything about the first 'M' Series I wrote, which was called Modern Day, I'm going to make you all happy by making a whole new Modern Day story, which makes the characters much younger this time! There's no more college. This time, it deals with high school students and... yeah, I think I'll just skip that part and tell you what happened the last time you all read the last chapter of Medieval Day! Here is a brief summary:  
  
  
Quistis gives birth to a baby boy who looks exactly like Seifer, apparently, Irvine doesn't seem to realize it, but let's just say he didn't see it all right? (LOL)  
  
Rinoa gets killed by her own lover, who was actually the Duke of Esthar, who happened to be Squall, possessed by a red-headed woman (you can probably guess who it is, since I can guess 100% that you're all finish with the game). The reason why 'Squall' killed her is because she had grown attached to the Queen, which was not her job. She was supposed to take the child away from her, but since Rinoa grew a bond with Quistis, she couldn't. She let Quistis escape with the child when Rinoa announced to her that the Estharians had made it inside the castle, looking for the Queen.   
  
Irvine left of course to battle against the Estharians, but there is no word yet on where he had gone off. Maybe he went to fight off the Estharians in the marshes, while the Commander, who, while Seifer is 'absent' takes over the Knight's army to defend the castle. It is evident that they were all killed since the Duke did make it inside.   
  
Zell and Selphie flee from the castle, believing that Quistis and the baby escaped unharmed. While they were running towards back castle gates, they find a little girl, whose parents died when a cannon smashed through the castle wall. They take her with them and continued on foot towards the castle entrance.  
  
Seifer, AKA, Calik, is remembering himself one by one and he decides to take his Chocobo out into the night. He had a feeling that something was going on outside of the woods that he has lived in for months. A brief encounter between Calik and Terris (his 'wife) made it more complicated for him as he prepared to leave. Terris admits she misses her 'husband' and that she still loves him, but Calik believes that she loves him because she was forced to. Leaving her aghast, Calik gets on his Chocobo and rides off into the night, while Squall catches up with Quistis and a scared child in her arms.  
  
Who will rescue her?  
  
Chapter 14 - Searching The Truth   
  
  
Swords clashed and anger rose from the mouths of the combatants. Quistis watched them back away from each other, as the man who attempted to kill her child wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, from Zell's attack.   
  
Squall looked up with evil eyes at the blond man and smirked, showing no pain from the wound. "I see you've improved, Zell. You would have become my personal Knight if only you have not betrayed me."  
  
"You're wrong! You're the one who betrayed your people and myself! You have betrayed your father as well!" Zell hissed, fixing the sword in his right hand. He gripped the sword tightly and glanced over his shoulder towards Selphie who was holding the Queen's arm. "Selphie, flee with the Queen!"  
  
Selphie looked up and frowned. "What about you?"  
  
Quistis stepped forward, handing the child towards Selphie. "I will fight with you!" she retorted, unsheathing a small dagger she produced from the side of her waist, from the belt that she made out of fabric, in case she needed a weapon to protect herself.  
  
Zell shook his head. "Don't worry about me! You all must go!" He turned his head back towards Squall and gritted his teeth in annoyance. "You are no longer yourself, your Highness, but I promise to rid of the misery that you have endured during these months."  
  
The Duke stared at him, with a puzzled face, but said nothing. Instead, he gripped his hand tightly around his sword and readied himself for another fight. He brandished his sword high and charged himself at the blond.  
  
Quistis was about to protest, when she felt Selphie grab her arm. Slightly annoyed by Zell's stubbornness to fight him alone, she almost decided to shake her friend's arm away from her, but decided against it, when she noticed Zell's devastating look when he noticed her hesitating.  
  
"Please, your highness. The least I could do for saving me from death is to repay you by protecting you and your child."  
  
Quistis looked into his eyes. "All right," she spoke, finally. Without another word, she followed Selphie out the back door towards the back entrance of the castle.   
  
  
  
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The darkness now consumed the lands that were once peaceful. Creatures of the night now conquered the swamps and the rivers that flowed through the desolate forest. He rode his Chocobo quietly as it trotted pass the trees that were new to him. For months, he has been trying to find himself and he did it by living in a cave for so long that he was unfamiliar with the other surroundings of the forest. Calik looked around, ready to unsheathe his sword from the side of his trousers if any would dare attack him. However, as the Chocobo continued on, there was nothing or no one who risked the wrath of his sword. He passed a few more trees, ones that seemed so old that they were about to collapse on top of him. A gust of wind blew the blond bangs near his eyes, along with the branches, swaying back and forth in the darkness. The branches were like hands trying to reach out to him. Calik paused. A voice was speaking in his head- no... there were two voices speaking- a man and a woman.  
  
"You have all the wealth and the power to control the Kingdom of Balamb and soon, you will have the wealth and power of Galbadia as well. The townspeople struggle in life. They have to work hard to provide for their family. Some die of famine and some die of thirst. Some live a life as peasants, working day and night to protect their crops for food. They only wish nothing but to be in the castle and become of Royal birth."  
  
"I was lucky, Princess. I was lucky enough to be pulled away from that struggle in life. I worked hard, day and night to become a Knight like my father. My father and I were pulled from that famine and the thirst. When my mother died, we did not know what to do. My father was too young then. He was only eighteen when I was born and he had no skills in sword fighting. He worked hard, no sleep and no play. The only way to get away from the struggle was for him to become a Knight, where he could get paid a reasonable price so he could provide food for both of us. His determination turned him into a Knight and he became the most trusted Knight ever since. Now, I want to follow in his footsteps."  
  
A Knight... he thought.   
  
"Yes, you struggled in life. Common folks struggle in life, yet there is one thing that they have that I do not have... happiness..."  
  
He looked up into the weeping willows and stared at his curiously. The willows seemed to be talking to him with two voices, reaching out to him. Who were these people? He recognized them. Calik blinked, shaking his head irritably. He was hallucinating. That's it!   
  
"Must move on," he whispered to himself. Calik's eyes widened. He realized now that they had gotten out of the forest. He looked down at his Chocobo and stroked its chin. "Good boy," he said.  
  
Suddenly, he heard footsteps nearby. Calik quickly unsheathed his sword and, by the time the footsteps got closer, the sharp side of his sword met the neck of a fourteen-year-old boy dressed in a silver armor. This boy had dirty blond hair, yet there was a familiarity about him that he could not quite see. Somehow, he has met this boy before.   
  
"Who are you? Why do you run?" he asked through the darkness. The boy could not see the man's face, nor could he see whether he was speaking at all.   
  
The fourteen-year-old boy gulped, feeling the sword to his throat. "I uh..." Drops of sweat fell at the side of his forehead as he felt the sword move closer to his left cheek.   
  
"Speak, I say!" the man commanded. The boy felt a sharp pang of memory in his mind. The voice sounded familiar to him. Though he wanted to find out, he could not risk himself being slashed with the sword while trying to run away from the disaster from the castle.   
  
"I had fled from the massacre of the castle, sir!" he finally spoke, taking another gulp. The sword moved down again to his throat, then towards his left hand, as it was reaching for his weapon.  
  
"Remove your hands from your weapon!" He yelled, the sword almost cutting through his fingers. The boy nodded and slowly removed his hands from his small sword given to him by his Captain those months ago.   
  
The man waited until the boy's hands were no longer blocking the sword he was trying to reach and stared at the weapon at his side. There was something familiar as well with the sword, the way it gleamed in the moonlight and reflected back in his memories. For a moment, all was silence between the two men. Calik placed his sword back in its sheath and looked at him carefully.   
  
"This sword... where did you get it?" He glanced at the sword, the handle decorated in sheen of gold as if it has never been used all these years. There was a hawk with its wings spread from left to right of the handle, its eyes full of valor and pride, as if it was staring right into the eyes of its prey. The sword was only half as long as his, but it still held the power to cut through things as easily as a normal sword. He realized it was a dagger. "The dagger..."  
  
The boy nodded. "It is indeed a dagger, sir. A brave man who led the army of Balbadia gave it to me months ago. Now... I am no longer certain if Balbadia will survive Esthar's raid."  
  
Calik frowned. "Esthar? Balbadia? Are these places?"  
  
The boy stared at him curiously. Does this man have any knowledge of the kingdoms? "Yes, sir," he replied.   
  
"Hm..." The man looked up over the boy's head and in the distance, he noticed a cloud of smoke just over top a large castle. "Why do they fight?"  
  
The boy continued to stare at him. Who was this man? "They have fought for years now to fight over the land they wish."  
  
Calik nodded, his eyes still lingering towards the nearly destroyed castle. Without another word, he gripped his hands tightly around the reigns of his chocobo and patted the bird in the neck to signal for it to go. Surprised, the boy stood where he was and watched the stranger on the chocobo trot towards Balbadia. There was something familiar about him, the boy thought.   
  
  
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They ran for nearly an hour now, she noticed. Ahead of her, ran Selphie with Russell in her arms, while she, feeling tired from the escape, held a small child's hand. She looked down and noticed the little girl whom Selphie and Zell came with gasping for breath. With one hand, Quistis placed it on top of her head. The girl looked up and frowned, fear already decided in her eyes, but Quistis just smiled down on her.  
  
"It's all right now, little one," she whispered in an assuring, soft voice. "I will protect you from that bad man."  
  
The little girl nodded and her frown quickly changed into a rare smile. She nodded and held her hand tightly against the larger hands of the Queen. Quistis smiled for the first time since Seifer left her arms forever. No... Seifer has not left her. He was alive... somewhere, she thought. Quistis looked up towards the back of Selphie, just a few seconds away from her. She heard her son's cry and Quistis felt a pang of guilt. She wanted to hold her son in her arms.   
  
The Queen paused.  
  
"Selphie..." she whispered. Selphie stopped and turned her whole body around to face her friend. She noticed Quistis holding out her arms towards her. "May I hold my child?"  
  
Selphie stared at her curiously; beads of sweat falling from the sides of her face. "But... your highness... we must be out of sight from this forest. It would be easy for that man to find us." She noticed Quistis' worried look and she couldn't help but give up. Selphie sighed and nodded, stepping forward towards her, while the child lay still in her arms.   
  
Quistis gently took Russell in her arms, letting go of Nadia's little hand and smiled down on her child. "I will protect you," she whispered in his small ear. She kissed his cheek, tears flowing from her eyes. Quistis felt someone tugging at her skirt and she looked down to find Nadia staring up at her. The blond Queen placed a hand on her head and smiled. "I will protect you too," she replied.  
  
A sound of distant chocobo footsteps could be heard in the distance. The two women, suddenly alarmed with the surroundings, closed their months as their eyes began to search around for the noise. Selphie stepped closely towards Quistis so Nadia was in between her and the Queen, while Quistis held her baby close to her heart. With one hand, she reached for her dagger and moved it to her side so she was ready to ward off any villains trying to kill her and her baby.   
  
"Stay close together," Quistis whispered. With her trained eyes, she shifted her head from left to right, ready and alert for any danger that was nearby. The darkness already consumed the light from the moon, so there was only trees surrounding them and the wind whispering to them. The branches of the trees swayed back and forth, as if calling to them, warning them that danger was coming.   
  
They heard it again.  
  
Patter! Patter! Patter!  
  
It was getting closer and louder. Selphie closed her fists together, ready to fight with her fists if she needed to, even though she had no knowledge to fight and aimed for the closest thing that was a danger to them.   
  
Patter! Patter! Patter!  
  
Quistis gritted her teeth in annoyance. She was about to yell out for the figure to show himself, when a shadow loomed somewhere in front of them. A silhouette of a man on his chocobo revealed him from the trees and slowly made his way to the two women and the children.   
  
"Get away!" Quistis yelled, handing Russell to the unsuspecting Selphie. She gripped her hand tightly around the hilt of her dagger and took a step forward towards the chocobo. "Get away or I will kill your chocobo!" she threatened, trying to look menacing.   
  
No word came from the man's lips.  
  
"Your highness!" Selphie yelped, taking a step forward, but paused, when the man suddenly jumped off his chocobo. He walked towards them, his face covered with the darkness. Quistis suddenly felt her hair stand on end as the man approached them.   
  
"So, you are a Queen," the man finally spoke, making Quistis even nervous.  
  
Boldly, she took another step forward. "If I am, I know you will kill you. You Estharians are animals!"  
  
The man stopped and stared at her curiously. "You think I am an Estharian?"  
  
"You say you are not?" Selphie spoke from behind.  
  
The man finally laid his eyes on the woman behind the blond. "If I am, why is it that I have not attempted to kill you yet? Do Estharians kill women and children as well?"  
  
Quistis frowned. "Why do you ask questions? You are an Estharian!"  
  
"Are you certain of that? Do you know who I am? Do tell me, for I do not know who I really am," the man retorted, taking two steps forward.  
  
"Dare to come near us and I will kill you, Estharian!" Quistis hissed, pointing the sharp end towards him. "You will have to go through me to get through my son!"  
  
The man paused once more, this time, standing still, as if something hit him. Quistis looked at him strangely, suddenly realizing that this man was not out to kill him, so she prepared to put her arm down.  
  
Without alarm, the man abruptly charged towards her. Quistis had no time to defend herself, as the man pushed her out of the way, grabbing Selphie, Russell and the little girl along with him on the ground. Quistis looked up, wide-eyed, glancing behind the man towards three arrows that dug deep into a tree nearby. Aghast, she stared at the man's face, finally being able to see who saved her life and was shocked to find whom it was.   
  
"Seifer...?" she whispered.  
  
A wave of recognition overwhelmed her and when she could no longer take it, she wrapped her arms around the man who seemed like a stranger to her a moment ago and cried close to his heart. The same blond hair that was now tied into a ponytail and the same, hopeful green eyes that bore through her soul the eyes that saw through her heart were staring right at her. Tears streaked down her beautiful face as she recognized the same man she loved those months ago.  
  
The man pried her gently away from him and stared at her curiously, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"  
  
"It is I... Quistis..."  
  
"You must have mistaken me with someone else," he spoke, interrupting her. "My name is Calik..." Standing up, he helped Quistis on her feet and jerked his head towards the person responsible for trying to kill the woman. Walking towards them was a man around their age, with wavy, brown hair and piercing blue eyes that were as cold as ice. "Who are you?"  
  
The man stopped and stared at him. "I should be asking you. Then again, I can probably guess who you are. You must be a Knight saving the damsel in distress from the danger, am I right?"  
  
The man, calling himself Calik, unsheathed a familiar sword from the side of his pants and glared at the man. How dare he attempted to harm women and children? "Who are you to dare kill innocent women and children?"  
  
"My name is the Duke of Esthar, at your service," he replied, mockingly bowing towards the blond man. "You might recognize me as the conqueror of all the nations."  
  
Calik gritted his teeth. "No... I must have missed that part," he spoke. He felt slender arms around his waist and Calik turned his head gently towards the same woman who claimed that he was this man named, 'Seifer.'   
  
"Seifer..." she whispered. Quistis rested her head on his back and whimpered. "I knew you'd be alive. I knew in my heart that you were alive."  
  
"Please, madam," he said. "This is your chance to flee with your friend and your children." He removed her arms from him and stared back at the man, without another glance towards Quistis.  
  
Quistis felt her heart torn in two.   
  
"What have you done with Zell?!" Selphie yelled, startling Quistis from her thoughts. She wrapped an arm around the small girl, while the other wrapped tightly around Russell, tears now visible in her eyes and frowned. Quistis could tell Selphie was trying to be bold.   
  
"Well, my dear..." the Duke began. "I disposed of him, just as you asked!"  
  
"NO!" Selphie screamed.   
  
"You must flee now!" the stranger hissed, turning his head towards Selphie and Quistis.   
  
Quistis stared at the man. He noticed a strange bump in his forehead and that is when she knew something had erased him memories. He claimed to be Calik, but she knows in her heart that this man was Seifer, even though Selphie could not see it. Without a second thought, she wrapped her arms quickly once again around the man and whispered something in his ear, then took Russell from Selphie's arms and fled from the scene, followed by her friend and the child.  
  
Calik's eyes followed the blond woman as they left. Her words hung like an arrow through his heart and the blood soaking through his tunic- the words he has not heard from the woman who claimed to know him and the words that brought an image in his mind... an image of her crying for him to come home. This woman... he now recognized her.   
  
"I love you," she said. "Even though you do not remember yourself, I know that once day you will remember the love we shared and the child that came because of it. Russell needs his father and I need my love back..." The words hung deep in his soul like water overflowing a boat. He was ready to sink in the water from those few words spoken. She knew him! She was the one who could bring the memory he had longed for, yet, he pushed her away. Why? Before he had a chance to answer the question himself, a raspy voice cut through the thin air.  
  
"This is certainly going to be interesting," Squall spoke. "I get to fight a mere stranger who does not seem to belong to any of the Kingdoms. I would say you are a man trying to look for who he is... am I correct?"  
  
Calik said nothing.  
  
"Oh well, I will rid of that torture you have endured all your life if you wish..."  
  
Once more, the blond said nothing.  
  
"Okay, I guess you want me to take the first shot, am I correct?"  
  
The blond shrugged cockily. "Be my guest..."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: OOOOOOHHHHHHHH a showdown between 'Calik' and Squall! The end is near and who will win? Now that Quistis finally knows that Seifer is alive, why did Calik deny that he was Seifer? Why did he turn Quistis away from him? And Zell! gasp! What happened to him? Poor Selphie! Don't worry; all questions will be answered on the next exciting chapter of Medieval Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned!!!!!!! 


	15. Return to Thunder Village

Note: Sorry everyone, I have been... to be honest, being a lazy ass for months now and I haven't done anything to continue with my stories. Sometimes too, I ran out of ideas and it usually does take me weeks to finalize my thoughts into a good story. Anyway, I hope you all didn't get impatient and forgot about this story. Thanks to those who continued reviewing this. In the beginning of this chapter, there are familiar scenes and you can all guess what it is, but with a twist! :D Warning: there are some graphic scenes so beware! And my grammar sucks! Heh heh. o_O  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 15 - Return to Thunder Village   
  
  
  
Ears begun to wage war against each other. They could both hear the drums rumbling in the distance... a sign of the beginning of battle. However, neither of them cared to avoid confrontation of swords clashing against each other. Metal versus metal, seemed to echo in the distance. Once again, they heard the same rolling of drums, but none of the two combatants paused to wonder what was going on or who was winning. Instead, both of them stared at each other, as if they have known each other all their lives and once again charged each other at full speed. One successfully slashed the other ruthlessly across the top of his nose, from right to left. Startled by the attack, the taller combatant backed away for a moment, gasping for breath, hoping that the other would show him mercy. However, his cold, blue eyes just penetrated through his green ones and he charged quicker than he had attacked the first time. He raised his sword high, ready to cut open the top of his skull with his sword, imagining the head splitting open while blood spilled everywhere. Fortunately, he was quicker and Calik raised his sword high in the air to keep the sword away from him. With all his strength he pushed the younger man off of him and regained his composure on his legs. He hadn't realized that he was shaking in his knees, until he began to think about it.   
  
The younger man, surprisingly, stepped a couple steps back and smirked. "You think you can just walk in here and be a hero? I don't know who you are, but you're in the way."  
  
Calik said nothing. With one swift move, he raised his sword and slashed his enemy at the same spot where the man had done the job, yet completely opposite. He did not have time to react as Calik's sword made contact with the bones of the bridge of Squall's nose. The blond backed away, giving the brunette time to surrender himself.  
  
Despite it all, Squall was determined to kill the blond. With pride and stubbornness, the Duke of Esthar was a man difficult to deal with. He wanted to finish off what he started. With another quick hand, he surprised Calik by aiming his sword at his head, but Calik was much faster. The blond dodged it quickly and Squall's sword ended up cutting a strand of Calik's bangs from his eyes.   
  
Thunder roared and a wave of screaming soldiers and clashing of swords in the distance delayed their battle for a moment, until Squall made another attempt to slash at the blond while he was preoccupied. However, as usual, Calik dodges that attack. Irritated, Squall kept at it, moving his sword from side to side, the noise of sword cutting through nothing but air, made him even more upset. Calik dodged every attack he could muster and nothing, other than the scar he gave him, could penetrate the fast moving, colours of gold from Calik's head. Squall wished his sword could cut his head in two, but what was the fun in that? He could injure him, bring him back to his castle and torture him some more, then maybe Balbadia and the rest of the world can hear his screams and the wrath of Duke Squall Leonhart.   
  
After a couple more tries of giving no chance for Calik to attack, Squall finally had him cornered to a nearby tree, his sword pressed hard against Calik's identical blade. He could tell that the blond was getting tired the way he was breathing and Squall now knew, this was his chance. With his might, Squall swiped Calik's sword away with his own blade and the sword flew in the air and fell on the ground with a loud, 'thunk!'  
  
"Now you will learn what it's like to face me!" Squall yelled, putting his sword over the blonde's head, ready to finish him off. However, before he could, he felt something cut through his skin. For a moment, he could feel his gut clenching as if the pain was just nothing, until he looked at himself. There was a sword through his stomach, struck from his back, his royal shirt now torn and wet from the blood that soaked through his skin. Squall gulped, his arms shaking, forcing him to drop his sword. He placed a hand on the blood, still unable to believe that he was stabbed. Squall got up and turned around slowly and couldn't believe what he was seeing. A figure approached him slowly and as Squall adjusted his eyes through the dark, he knew who it was the moment he noticed the figure's hand on the side of his stomach. It was the same wound he gave him as the sword slashed through it. Squall could not believe his eyes... then again, he was not surprised. Zell Dincht was a good soldier after all. For all the years he's been trained in Esthar, Zell knew how to handle situations such as surviving a deadly wound. Zell could have been a great Commander for his army. "Zell... how could you? How could you betray me?"  
  
Zell's leaned his head back and laughed. A laugh that was so terrifying and contagious to Squall at the same time. He noticed Zell take another step towards him, his face now changed from a bitter smirk into a serious frown. "You're wrong, your highness. You're the one who betrayed me... your people and the rest of the world. I couldn't just stand by and watch you slaughter the innocence of children, of women and of men!"  
  
Squall staggered towards him. Zell couldn't believe he was still standing and speaking. "You wretched boy! Aren't I your dear friend? Did not I trust you? Did not I feed you when you were living in the cold? I brought you in, trained you as a soldier and this is how you repay me?"  
  
"I thank you for all that, your highness, however, that was not YOU. That was Squall- the real Squall. The one who would never kill anyone for a purpose to dominate the world. Squall would never destroy innocent lives for his own benefit. He did everything for his people and finished the works of his father that he could not finish."  
  
"Zell..."   
  
Zell gasped. He could hear Squall's voice. His REAL voice for the first time in months. He took a step forward, his own wound making him weak and vulnerable. Squall said his name once more and told him to come to him and hug him like they used to as kids. Zell took another step forward, until a voice snapped him out of his reverie.  
  
It was Squall's voice. The voice that sounded like his real self, speaking somewhere in his mind. Now he understood. Now he knew where Squall was. He was gone. He has been dead all this time. The person speaking inside Squall's body had completely destroyed the real Squall and took over. Now he understood that Squall wanted him to kill his body.   
  
Squall took a step towards the short blond, producing a small blade hidden from the side of his pants. Zell stood there, hesitant to finish him off. The brunette took another step. Then another and another, until he broke into a run towards the blond.   
  
Calik shouted a warning, but it would be too late for that as Squall approached him. The tall blond stood up as fast as he could, grabbed his sword from the ground and launched towards the charging Duke. Like slow motion, Calik's sword cut through the same wound Zell had inflicted on Squall, Zell's sword cutting deeper into his chest. Squall screamed, blood pouring out of his mouth. Zell blinked, backing away from the scene that began to unfold in front of him.   
  
Fire began to burn through Squall's body and at the same time, blood dripped on the ground like rain. A ray of light shone from Squall's eyes and before Zell and Calik could find their feet to run, Squall's body exploded and like magic, blood disappeared out of sight from where he had been destroyed, leaving only specks of dust on the floor. The swords they cut through the body fell on the ground together and at the same time, Zell and Calik collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.   
  
Zell sat on the opposite side of Calik and after relief flew through him, he glanced at the blond across from him. He was sure he had seen the man before, but he chose not to question him. Right now, the man needed time to rest.   
  
Calik sighed, his breathing hard and his head spinning from everything that had happened. It took him a moment until he realized, that this man across from him could be the answer to his past, along with the woman who had called him, 'Seifer.' Maybe he was 'Seifer.' Without thinking, Calik glanced at the man and opened his mouth to speak. "Do you know who I am?" he asked, his eyes flooded with blood from the scar left on him by Squall.  
  
Zell winced, the pain getting deeper and deeper into his gut. He could not answer. He was too tired to answer. He knew the man, but there was no memory of him inside of his head at the moment. He closed his eyes wearily, but the same question from the man's lips brought him back again. This time, after another patient wait, Zell nodded. "I might. I cannot see you in the dark, so it is difficult for me to see who you are."   
  
"I believe you might know those two women who ran by here and rode off with my chocobbo with two children. One of them called me, 'Seifer...' Who is he? Is that I?" Calik did not understand why he was asking the other man this question. His instincts were catching up on him again. There was a possibility that this man knew those two women or might not, but he took the chance anyway.   
  
The other man stood up quickly... too quickly, however, moaning when the pain got worst. He shook the thought away and focused more on who this man was. He was asking rather strange questions. Seifer... Seifer... I thought he was dead? He thought. Then, as he peered closer, he noticed blond hair and piercing green eyes and the same features as the Seifer long ago. "Who would have thought," he spoke, thinking he was talking to himself rather than the other blond man.  
  
"Pardon me?" Calik spoke, furrowing his eyebrows in curiosity.   
  
Zell shook his head and smiled. "I did not believe it at first that you were alive, but she kept on insisting that you were, kept on insisting the guards to search for you. I guess her hopes and prayers were answered after all. She must have been so happy when she saw you. You must have been too, Seifer."  
  
Calik shook his head in the dark. "So, my name is Seifer... how can I be? My name is Calik. Maybe the man you are looking for IS dead."  
  
The younger blond stared at him, puzzled by his words. He wanted to ask him what he meant by it, when another pain hit its mark. Zell winced and he heard himself moan from it.   
  
"Your wound... how bad is it?" Zell heard the other man say. He could hear the man get up from the ground and walking towards him, hesitantly, yet sure that it was safe for him to come nearer to the unknown man.   
  
The former soldier placed a hand over the wound and although he knew it did not stop the bleeding, he kept it there anyway and slowly stood up, the wound drowning him of his energy. "It seems Squall has hit me where it will bleed forever," was his only answer, before his knees buckled. Zell hit the ground once more and winced at the pain. He closed his eyes, hearing someone rip something. He looked up and noticed 'Calik' was ripping the bottom part of his shirt, and then putting it around Zell gently, like a mother rocking his baby. Zell was stunned. He assumed the Seifer he knew would never do such a thing to save him by sacrificing something to him. He never knew Seifer that well anyway.   
  
Once finished, Calik leaned back on his knees and looked at the cloth around Zell's waist, as if an artist staring at his work of art. The blood continued to soak through his clothes and then through the cloth. "It will not stop the bleeding, but I know someone who can."  
  
Zell was getting tired. He tired to close his eyes, but Calik's voice brought him back again to the living. Calik was telling him not to close his eyes and to keep focusing on him. The blond obeyed and he opened his eyes again, no matter how tired he was. He felt himself being lifted off the ground like paper, his arms being wrapped around someone's strong neck and his legs being forced to walk beside another set of feet. Zell looked and noticed Calik was helping him, lifting up both their swords on his shoulder as if they were nothing, but the weight of two feathers. He closed his eyes again, but this time, Zell did not wake up from Calik's voice, but by a sound he has never heard before.   
  
It was a whistle.  
  
"What- are you doing?" he spoke, finding his voice still. He was dragged along slowly towards the edge of the forest, but Zell could not tell exactly where they were.   
  
He heard Calik speak, but his mind was too wounded from the previous fight and his thoughts were on Selphie, thinking what she would do now that he was going to die for good? She might have thought he died before, from the first fight he had with Squall, but Zell did not want to know the truth.   
  
  
  
  
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"Heel! Heel!" she yelped. The yellow creature squawked and squealed, lifting up one leg to emphasize that he wanted to turn around and return to his owner. She didn't know what was wrong with it, but her son and Nadia could get hurt. She held on tightly to the reigns, placing a soft hand on the side of its neck to calm it down. It paused for a calm moment, and then came back to wildly kicking and screaming again. Another hand came around the chocobbo's neck, the two children still on top of the chocobo, Nadia's big round eyes, staring at the two women in fright. She was holding the baby in her arms so tightly, that Quistis was unsure whether to protect Russell from the Chocobo or from the death grip Nadia was giving him.  
  
Selphie grasped tightly around the neck of the creature, whispering some words of gentleness towards it, but it kept on kicking and squawking stubbornly, telling them that he needed to get back to its owner. "Don't be stubborn!" Selphie screamed, her patience running away from her.  
  
The chocobo would not obey. With one strong movement, the chocobo jumped up, the two children flying high in the air as Nadia screamed in terror. Selphie caught Nadia just before she could fall on the ground, the little girl's hands still around Russell. Without showing any kind of sympathy, the chocobo fled from the two women, leaving them both alone with the children. Quistis frantically ran to her baby, making sure her baby was all right and to her relief, he was still breathing and giggling. He thought that whole thing was funny, she thought. She could not help but smile to herself of that thought. He was just a baby, so of course he wouldn't understand anything...yet. Quistis could not comprehend on the chocobo's sudden change in mood. It seemed something was calling it. She had a feeling that they need not run anymore from whatever they were running from.   
  
"Quistis? Shall we go on?" Selphie spoke. She took Nadia's hand and led her towards Quistis.  
  
The blond woman looked up, smiled and nodded, taking the baby from Nadia's arms and wrapped her own arms around Russell. "Let's continue," she spoke.  
  
"Hold on..." Startled, the two women turned around. The same chocobo that had run out on them, appeared from the darkness and on top of him sat two men, one holding his reigns, while the other...   
  
"Zell?" Selphie's voice broke the air before she could figure out whom it was. She could recognize her lover even from a distance. Quistis understood that it was how love made them feel. Love made them feel connected and never separated.   
  
Selphie let go of Nadia's hand and ran to her lover. She could not believe it. She knew he was alive. Happiness overclouded her judgment, as she ran to the two men. Zell had his head on the chocobo's head, as he sat legs apart on the creature. Seifer was straddled behind him, taking over the reigns. Selphie paused in her tracks and stared at the bloody figure sitting on front of Seifer. At first, she did not believe it was he from all the blood that soaked his face, but when she noticed the black tattoo at the side of his face, she realized it was he after all. She could no longer contain the emotions inside as she began to weep, burying her face in her hands. She could not look at him. He looked pained and hurt. He did no need this kind of torture. How has the Gods punished her? By almost losing the only person she loves the most twice! Maybe, this was his last day on Earth.   
  
"If you wish to save his life, then I suggest you move aside so we can continue," came Seifer's voice. Selphie was startled by his choice of words, unsure how to respond to that. She was still in shock to see him, believing that he had died to what Squall had said. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Selphie looked up into the eyes of Quistis and nodded, taking a step to one side, followed by Quistis with Russell and Nadia.   
  
Seifer clicked his tongue against the side of his cheek and the chocobo slowly made its trek through the dry grass of the empty plains. Quistis, Russell and Selphie, along with Nadia, followed behind, all trying to catch up with the speed of the chocobo, no matter how slow it was going.  
  
Quistis looked up, her eye suddenly glazed over at the scar on Seifer's wound, bleeding. "Seifer! What has happened to your face?"  
  
Calik said nothing, not caring whether it hurt the woman that he did not acknowledge her concern. He continued onward on the chocobo, without taking another look back at the scene that he dreaded to see again.   
  
The blond woman sighed. She was never able to speak with Seifer about male pride and she certainly would not be able to break the wall through Calik's mind as well.   
  
After a moment of silence, Calik was the first one to speak, breaking the cold, quiet air surrounding them. "The village is just ahead." He shook the wounded man out of his reverie and frowned. "You must stay awake for a few more steps, Zell. It would be a waste of time to come here with you dead."  
  
Quistis looked up at Seifer's choice of words. Despite his identity as 'Calik,' she could not shake the feeling of the pain he must have gone through while trying to find out who he was. It was her fault she did not try hard enough to search for him. He was trying to deny his own identity of the man whom they say he was, but why? He did not believe them. He did not believe that he was Seifer? Why would he turn his own identity down? Did he know who he was, but just pretended that he had forgotten that he was Seifer? If he was just pretending, then what was his reason? To hurt her, or to make the pain in his heart go away by his guilt over betraying his best friend?   
  
"Here we are," Seifer spoke, snapping Quistis out of her reverie. She must have stared at him for so long, because Seifer gave her a strange, meaningful look, before he had to turn his attention on a large, brown door, opening. Quistis watched as two men, dressed in all types of tunics and pants, approached them, and followed by a beautiful young woman her age, with short blond hair. Her eyes met Seifer's for a moment, then traveled as far as Zell's face, covered in blood. "Terris," Seifer spoke, as if she knew the woman for a long time.   
  
"Calik..." They stared at each other for a moment.  
  
They DID know each other for a long time, she thought to herself. She felt a pang of envy and sadness, thinking that they might have become lovers.   
  
The women glanced at Quistis, at Selphie, the two children, and then back at Seifer again. "What is going on here?"  
  
"Terris, please let us in. We need to bring this man inside to be treated. He is badly injured."   
  
Terris glanced at the wounded man, then towards the two women. She gave Quistis a glance as if she wanted to say something to her. "We may be able to treat the wounded man, but we have never invited strangers in before," she spoke, looking back up at Seifer.   
  
"What is going on here? What is all the ruckus?" Terris looked behind her, then stepped aside to let her father through the door. She glanced at the two men guarding the gate and nodded her head. The two men immediately opened the door wider.  
  
"Father, we must bring a wounded man inside. He need help," she explained, nodding her head towards Zell.  
  
Nero squinted his eyes, noticing the blond and his many wounds on the side of his stomach. Suddenly, his eyes grew round and wide in fear, and then motioned for his hand to bring the chocobo inside. "Quickly! He needs treatment right away."   
  
Like magic, two men appeared, carrying with them some kind of bed made of buffalo skins and willow tree barks. It was fit to have a full-grown man on it, by the size of the bed, the handle thick and strong enough so the two men could lift someone up with no dilemma. Selphie watched as the tall blond man gently put her beloved down on the bed, Zell wincing and moaning in pain. Upon being placed on the buffalo skin bed, Selphie ran to him immediately, grasping her hands in between Zell's own.   
  
"Zell, please be well for me," she whispered, resting her head to his heart. She felt his hand on her head, stroking it like a mother would and she sighed at his touch, knowing that he was still warm.   
  
The blond opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, he was being carried away. Selphie hung on to his hands, but the tall, large man had told her to let go so they could take him inside. Inside? Where? Zell began to panic. He did not know what the man was talking about? "Selphie...?"  
  
Selphie nodded and smiled reassuringly. "It will be fine, Zell. You will be well for me." The blond watched her getting smaller in the distance as he was led inside a dark place, except for the one that they came through. As soon as they were all safely inside, followed by the large man wearing a mammoth hat, darkness completely surrounded them.  
  
Quistis held tightly to her child, but was startled when she felt cold hands touching her arm. She looked up and noticed a woman taking her child away from her. She gasped, grasping much tighter than she intended to and looked at the woman strangely. "What are you doing?"  
  
"It's okay, Quistis. She is a friend of mine. She will treat your child as your own. He needs to be checked in order to be safe," Seifer replied.  
  
"Safe from what?" Quistis asked. The same woman took Nadia's hand, but, like Quistis, Selphie grasped on Nadia's tiny hand, shaking her head. The woman looked up and smiled, showing Selphie that she meant no harm. Nadia looked up at Selphie and smiled, as if she knew that this woman was telling the truth. Hesitantly, Selphie let go and the two children were led inside a small hut made of the same fabric from the bed the two men were carrying Zell on.  
  
Another voice sparked the air, which sounded feminine and deep, much like the voice of Quistis' mother. Startled, they all turned to see the same woman with the short blond hair approaching them. "They need to make sure that no one from the outside bring disease here," she replied, not meaning to hurt anyone.  
  
However, it offended Quistis and she gave the woman a hard look. The other woman ignored it and walked pass the two women towards Calik.  
  
"Do not worry too much about him." Selphie turned around and noticed Seifer standing there. She nodded, knowing Seifer was right. "Nero will take care of him. He is a medicine man of this village and the chief. No harm will come to him."  
  
Assured by his words, Selphie decided to find comfort in Quistis' arms, who stood there, confused by where they were. The blond woman wrapped her arms around the younger woman and glanced at Seifer, whose eyes was on the young woman they met earlier.   
  
"Calik, I am glad you are safe. I thought you were harmed by the outsiders." She wrapped her arms around him and sighed; glad to be in the arms of the man she loves.   
  
Seifer did not move, instead, he wrapped his arms around her and Quistis could see the hesitation in his body. Jealousy forced her to turn her head away from the scene, so she turned her attention towards her friend instead.   
  
"Terris, why do you still wear this ring?" she heard Seifer say. Once she heard the word, 'ring,' Quistis looked up curiously, noticing Seifer lifting up Terris' hand, staring at a small, gold band around her middle finger.   
  
"I wear this, for I still love you." The young woman looked up and stared into his eyes, moving closer to kiss him, but to Quistis' shock and surprise, Seifer turned his head away from her and shook his head.  
  
"You may still love me, but my love for you is no longer with me," Seifer replied. He glanced at Quistis; his eyes on her and for a moment, the blond woman noticed the way he looked at her, just like how he gazed at her before he disappeared. She missed that look.   
  
Terris glanced at the woman her beloved was staring at and watched as Seifer's eyes intently gazed into the blue eyes of the taller blond woman. "Calik? Who is that woman?" she spoke.   
  
Calik shrugged. "She claims she knows who I am."  
  
"Who you are?" Terris raised an eyebrow curiously. "You are Calik, of course."  
  
"You found me in the forest, Terris, I am not Calik. Your father chose to call me that when I told him I did not know who I was." He nodded at the other blonde, as she turned her head away from him. "She seems to know who I am." Calik smirked, realizing that she has been watching him all this time.   
  
Terris felt a pang of jealousy towards the blond woman. She gripped her hands tightly on to Calik's shirt, unaware that she was also gripping a part of his skin. Calik jerked his arm away and looked at her strangely. The blond girl looked up with a sorry gaze and Calik just sighed and nodded, accepting her apology. They both turned back towards Quistis.  
  
Quistis sighed. The conversation, as she listened, was getting rather awkward for her. They were both staring at her. She looked down on Selphie's head and stroked her short, brown hair softly, whispering kind words to her ear to ignore the stares towards her.  
  
"I do not know what I would do if I lost him again," Selphie spoke, her voice hollow and shaking as she buried her face close to her friend's heart.  
  
Quistis shook her head. "Do not think of that, Selphie. Thinking like that will only make your feelings worst for him. You must think of him alive and well and in your arms again."  
  
Selphie nodded and looked up with a tear-struck face. "Thank you so much, your highness," she spoke, calling Quistis by her class.   
  
The blond shook her head. "What have I told you by calling me that? I am no longer a ruler of a kingdom still standing, remember?"  
  
The brunette nodded. "I understand." She wiped her tears with her arm and glanced towards the gate. For a moment, she stood there, staring at the front gate to where they had stepped in. Quistis was ready to say something, when Selphie spoke again. "I need to be alone for a while. I will ask someone who knows of a place where I can watch the sunset from here," she said, without looking at Quistis.  
  
Quistis nodded, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Of course," she replied.  
  
Without another word, she left the blond standing there and went to someone close by to ask of a quiet place. Quistis watched worriedly, afraid that something might happen to her, but she need not worry so much. That's right, Quistis, do not worry, she told herself. Sighing, she looked around the place and wrapped her arms around herself. Suddenly, it was getting cold.  
  
Calik watched the blond woman curiously. "Terris," he spoke, after a quiet moment. He waited until he felt Terris looking up at him. "Bring her some warm clothing," he spoke, without glancing her way.  
  
Disappointing, Terris sighed and nodded. "I may have some. I will be right back." She left Calik alone, standing in the dark to a small hut just North of the village and came back later with two sets of wolf skin sheets that could warm four people at the same time. She handed them to Calik, knowing full well that he wanted to give them to her.  
  
Taking the wolf skins from Terris' hands, he approached Quistis quietly, opened one wide and placed them around Quistis' shoulders. The blond woman looked up, startled. "Thank you," she whispered, blushing. She need not blush. She knew this was Seifer, but this was not Seifer. This was Calik, a stranger to her and she was a stranger to him. Oh, how she wished she could embrace him again, but not with the woman watching them.  
  
Calik nodded. "You need plenty of rest," he spoke. "Your child will be cleaned and be brought to you by morning and I am certain that Zell and Selphie will be with each other again."  
  
Quistis looked up, waiting for another sentence to escape his lips, such as, "And I will come with you as well, to be with you and our child, forever. We will find a place to live so our son can grow into a good man." However, he turned around quietly, leaving her stunned. She watched him walk pass the other woman and into the tent where Zell was taken inside. She stared at where he disappeared for a moment, then her eyes danced towards the other woman on the other side of the pool of puddle that formed during the rainy days on the land about two days ago. Terris was staring at her intently and Quistis felt overwhelmed by her constant watch. She turned her head away from her and looked around, then glanced at the tent where her child disappeared. She wished Seifer knew of their child. She wished Calik knew of their child. She wished Calik remembered who he was.  
  
Terris eyed her suspiciously. She will not get him, she thought. She clenched her fists at her sides and glanced at tend where the woman's baby was. Terris grinned and nodded. 'I will make you see how much Calik means to me!' her mind spoke.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Wooh! That was a long one. Heh heh. Oh well, at least I have this chapter done! Wow, Squall's dead, eh? I guess that whole thing explains why he went crazy. It was obvious tho, since I revealed about the red headed woman in the beginning. Anyway, what will happen next? Will Seifer come to Quistis and be 'Seifer' again instead of Calik? Or is there something up Terris' sleeve that will become more deadly than just blond hair and blue eyes? And has Quistis accepted Seifer's new change in his identity, that is why she is no longer pushing Calik that he was Seifer? 


	16. The truth about Terris

Note: *Tee hee hee hee! Did I make you guys wait THAT long? Gomen a thousand times over! I know, I haven't been committing myself, but you have to understand, I was just trying to figure out EXACTLY how to end it and how to go about from where I left off. Well, I guess this is good enough...There's at least a few more chapters until it's over! See ya! Oh yeah, in this chapter, it's mostly pure Zelphie and please don't kill me for it :D. Don't worry Seiftis fans! There is also a lot of treats for you as well... heh heh, maybe a few Terris bashing!  
  
  
  
Chapter 16 - The truth about Terris  
  
  
"Terris! What do you think you are doing?!" He grasped her arm tightly, stopping her from running away and glanced at the object in her arms. A small baby was wrapped gently in between her arms, his green eyes looking up tiredly towards him. This was his son and someone was about to do something to him...but what? He placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around and glared into her eyes closely. "I said, what are you doing?" he repeated.   
  
Terris said nothing, turning her head away from him. With a low, growl, the blond woman grimaced, her eyes staring firmly on the ground and looked up at him. "I want to get rid of this child! He is not yours! She is lying to you!" One of her fingers immediately pointed towards the woman standing just behind him, her eyes full of fear to how the child was being handled- almost to the point of being dropped.   
  
Calik glared at her. She could be right, but in the back of his mind, he doubted Terris' conclusions about the baby. "This is ridiculous, Terris! My child or not, you are going to hurt someone innocent."  
  
Quistis watched as Terris glanced at the child in her arms. The shorter woman took a short, dangerous look towards the taller woman, her eyes then traveling towards the man she loved. It was as if she was trying to make a decision.   
  
"What's the meaning of this?" Terris looked up at the sound of her father's voice.   
  
Nero pushed his way gently through the crowd that quickly formed the moment Calik's voice was heard calling Terris' name and was shocked to find his daughter holding a baby inappropriately, one hand holding him by his waist, while the other, was rested on his back. He immediately ran to her, grabbing the baby gently in his arms and glaring at his daughter. "Terris! Is this what the commotion is all about? What are you thinking, my child? This baby must not be handled this way!"  
  
Terris looked down on the ground shamefully. She was ashamed for trying to hurt a child. All she wanted was for Calik to love her again and to look at her the way he looks at that woman. However, it all changed now. Since her arrival a few days ago, all Calik has ever talked about while she was near him was HER. Quistis. Every time she would hear that name, she just wanted to reach out for a rock and strike that person over the head.   
  
Her eyes immediately shot up when she heard her father's footsteps retreating. She watched as the man handed the baby back in Quistis' arms and all Terris could do was watch in anger. How could her father be soft on her? She was the reason she was unhappy.   
  
Quistis cradled her child in her arms. For days now, she had to tolerate the looks Terris was looking her way. She could not blame her, however, for being jealous of Seifer's love for her. All this time, Seifer had been staying in this village, maybe even falling for the village chief's daughter and she in return. But she had to take him away now. She loved him too much to let her go. She had to bring the real Seifer back in his arms so Russell can have a father to look up to. "I apologize for all the pain I caused you, Terris. I know it must been hard for you to let go of something you always wanted." Quistis looked closely into Terris' eyes to see if she believed her or not.  
  
The shorthaired woman frowned. What was she trying to do, make her buy her lies? She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. She was about to turn her head away from her, when her father's voice interrupted her. "She apologized, Terris. What do you say to that?"  
  
The woman looked at her father and frowned. "I am sorry as well," she spoke, without even looking at Quistis.  
  
Quistis nodded. Despite her lack of people skills, the woman sighed a breath of relief and told her she forgave Terris. Surprised, Terris looked at her this time as she turned and walked away, making her way through the crowd with her child back in her arms and went back to her the tent provided for her while they stayed there.  
  
  
  
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Selphie laid in her bed. It has been days that passed since she looked into that empty bed and watched him lying there, smiling while he talked to her stomach...to their child. Tears streamed down her face, her body aching with defeat from lack of sleep.   
  
'You promised,' she thought. 'You promised you would never leave me!' Selphie slammed a fist down on the bed and wept. "You promised you would always stay with me! You broke it!" she yelled out loud.   
  
  
  
(Flashback)  
  
  
  
"Hey, Selph!" Selphie looked up. Zell was smiling at her as they sat on the hill, watching the sunset. It was good they were in this village. This village held a view that was so beautiful that makes people want to stay all day just to watch the sunrise and fall. Zell wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head. With the other hand, he touched her belly and sighed. "What do you plan on naming our child?" He was surprised at first when she came into the tent, holding his hand and telling him it was going to be all right. He was ready to tell her what Nero had said, that he had poison in his blood, that he was going to die soon. However, her own caught him off guard, enabling him to tell her. She alone told him that she...was...  
  
With child...  
  
He glanced back at his lover, waiting for her answer.  
  
Selphie thought for a moment, then looked down on her stomach, placing a hand on top of Zell's. "If it is a girl, it would be Aesia and if it is a boy..." Her train of thought disappeared. She never even thought of a name for a boy.  
  
Zell laughed. "I guess you were wishing for a girl, were you not?"  
  
Selphie blushed and nodded. She sighed, collapsing in his arms.   
  
"Well, if it IS a boy, how about Camus?" Zell laid down, pulling Selphie along with him and laid his head on the cool, green grass. He could feel the poison slowly creeping around the insides of his veins.   
  
Selphie laid her head on his chest and thought for a moment. "Hm... that would be nice." She yawned. She was unaware of how tired she was ever since they got here. She closed her eyes for a moment, hoping only to rest for a bit, when her mind suddenly drifted quickly to sleep. In few seconds flat, she had already fallen asleep in Zell's arms.  
  
Zell felt her breathing, telling him she had fallen asleep. He could always tell, by the way she was breathing. When she slept, her breathing was slower and when she was awake, it got stronger and faster, because she was full of energy. He sighed. He was definitely going to miss her. He laid a warm hand on her back and pulled her closer so that he was cheek to cheek with her.  
  
Her smile.  
  
Her laughter.  
  
The way her eyes sparkled green.  
  
The way her hair smelled of lemon.  
  
He was going to miss all of them. He was going to miss the way her lips touched his and the way she would put her arms around him and cried in his shoulder when she needed him. Now... it was all going to change. He will no longer be there with her...to comfort her, to make her smile or to make her laugh.   
  
Zell felt the poison again. It was creeping its way to his heart. Nero had told him he had a few hours to live and he was good at manipulating Selphie into letting him come with her up on the hills that he saw through the window of the tent so he could see the sun one last time with her. It was going to be their last watching it together. "I'm sorry," he spoke. He was sorry. He had to lie to her, had to tell her he was all right so she did not have to worry. She will find someone else to love, someone else who would take care of her and their child.   
  
Suddenly, he was getting tired. He knew this was the effect on the poison. He closed his eyes, breathing hard now. Death was gripping him by his shoulders. Zell looked down at Selphie and cried tears of joy. He was glad he met her. He was glad that he was able to spend all this time with her, despite the many distractions from the war. He pulled her a little bit closer and whispered in her ear, "Thank you and I love you," before he closed his eyes. The poison finally hit its mark in his heart and no matter how much it pained Zell, he did not have any torturous attacks that could wake up Selphie. It merely stopped his breathing and before long... he was no longer awake.  
  
Selphie woke up the next morning, all rested and refreshed from their nap. She slept longer than she anticipated as she glanced at Zell. Smiling, Selphie leaned down and kissed him on the lips gently. "Wake up, sleepy head!" she spoke, shifting her whole body to face him.   
  
He did not move.  
  
Selphie giggled. "Hah hah, that is very funny, Zell, pretending you did not hear me! It's morning already!" She shook him with all her might, thinking he was trying to pretend he did not feel her shaking.   
  
He still did not move.  
  
Annoyed, Selphie placed a hand on his chest, maybe to tickle him a little bit. A tickle on the chest usually wakes him up. She waited for him to react as she slowly made her hand walk from his stomach to his chest and when she reached his chest, where his heart is suppose to be, she jerked her hand away from him.   
  
His heart.  
  
It was not beating.  
  
"This is not funny, Zell!" Selphie yelled, shaking him again.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Fear crept inside her. Selphie leaned forward and placed an ear on his chest to hear...nothing? Frantically, she lifted up a hand in her own to feel a pulse, however, she felt nothing, but cold blood and felt no beating. "No..." she spoke, barely a whisper. "No! You can't leave me like this! You lied to me! You told me you were okay!" She closed her hands into fists and slammed them hard on his chest, hoping those would revive him somehow. "Why did you not tell me you were sick?! How could you do this to me?! Zell! Do not leave me and our child alone?! You promised you would take care of us?!"   
  
Tears of frustration and sadness mixed together as they landed on his lifeless form. Selphie shook him many times and beat at his chest, hoping against all hope that he was still alive and after a few more minutes of pain... Selphie collapsed on the ground, her head on his chest, weeping.  
  
  
  
  
(End of Flashback)  
  
Selphie closed her eyes. Tears were now spreading on her bed like wild fire and she was unable to tell whether she could not stop it, or just forcing herself to let it come. She was feeling sad and alone and she has been like that for days now, just trapped in her own world, never caring about anyone anymore, not even the child that now stood by the door, watching her.   
  
"Sis?" The child, Nadia, even after a few days, had gotten used to calling Selphie her sister. She approached the young woman quietly and sat down at the foot of the bed and looked at her. Selphie neither looked up, nor spoke a word towards the little girl. Nadia stared at her, hoping that she would talk. "Sis?" she called again.  
  
"I'm not your sister, Nadia," she finally spoke.  
  
Nadia nodded and looked down sadly. "I miss him too."  
  
Selphie jerked her head up and frowned. "You barely knew him, so why would you miss him?!" She was angry with Zell, even after he died. How dare he leave her like this? In pain! In sadness! "Can you just leave me alone?!"  
  
Nadia did not move at her request. She placed a hand on her heart and smiled. "Even if it hurts, Sis, you will always remember him in your heart. He will always be with you, even though he is not here in person. I learned not to cry, because my mother and father told me not to. They told me that if anything happened to them, I should not cry, and if I do, then the pain would get worst. All I have to do is remember them here in my heart and remember the good times we had."  
  
Selphie said nothing. She was surprised at how much knowledge the little girl had and how much she talked. The young woman waited for her to continue. It was not all that bad to hear the girl talk. In truth, it was making her feel better.  
  
"The baby, Sis, without him, you can always look at the baby and be reminded of him. That is one of the other happy memories you will always share with him, in this world and the next." Nadia took a deep breath and put her arms down beside her.  
  
Tears suddenly fell from Selphie's eyes. "Zell..." She closed her eyes and remembered how he used to smile, despite the desperate times they had. He was cheerful like her and outgoing like her. She had no idea how so much alike they were. He would wrap her arms around her when she felt sad and he would calm her with his soothing words. Selphie smiled and looked at Nadia. "You are right, Nadia. I am sorry for yelling at you."  
  
Nadia smiled. "In reality, Sis, Zell will never disappear. Not even from your heart."  
  
Selphie was touched by her words. Unconsciously, she reached out and wrapped her arms around the little girl and wept against her small shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear. "Thank you very much."  
  
  
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"I apologize for all this," he spoke. Quistis looked up, teary eyed from fear of almost losing her baby. Calik glanced at Terris, who was being spoken to by her father, obviously preoccupied by her thoughts on her him. "She and I..." He stopped just in time before his words stung the blond woman. He looked at her with an apologetic expression and Quistis just shook her head in response.  
  
"Do not you worry about it. I understand." Quistis was ready to take a rest, when the tall man's hand encased itself around her shoulder. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.  
  
"Are you hurting?" The question was an odd one coming from his lips. Calik hesitated for a while to wait for her answer, but decided against it and waited patiently. He did not mean to pry in her thoughts.  
  
Quistis sighed. "I am, Seifer. It hurts me that you turn away from me and not give me a chance to let you remember who you really are. It hurts me how you promised to come back to me, when you did not."  
  
Calik said nothing as she continued.  
  
Quistis turned around, the baby now moving about in her arms. "Russell needs her father and if you will not let me in, then he will never have one."  
  
"I am not sure if I should," Calik spoke. "I want to remember myself on my own."  
  
"Why?" Quistis asked, looking up. "I can help you remember. Together...it is much faster. Why are you trying to hide the-"  
  
"I am NOT HIDING?!" Seifer suddenly yelled, interrupting Quistis. When he noticed the way she looked, Seifer took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "It is better for you that I do not belong with you in the castle." He turned and left, leaving Quistis confused.  
  
What did he mean?  
  
  
  
  
***************  
  
  
  
  
  
Calik was ready to retire in bed; ready to rest his head on the soft cushion of the buffalo skinned pillow and ready to ease his mind of the confusion in his head. Why did she have to come here looking for him? Why did she have to make his life more complicated than it already is?   
  
Quistis' image flashed in his mind. Why did she mean so much to him? Why was he thinking these thoughts about his life and hers? What was going on? Who was he? Calik buttoned the tent door and plopped on his bed tiredly. By tomorrow, everything will be fine. His mind will ease and there will be no more complications.   
  
Soon, he had fallen asleep.  
  
  
  
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"Seifer..." Quistis called in the darkness. She approached him slowly while he slept. She needed him to remember, needed him to see who he was really was. Not the Calik that the people of this village knows or the one that Terris is in love with, but the Seifer that she met and fell in love with. Slowly, she waited until he turned around to face her and when he did, she slowly laid down beside him and took his arm and wrapped them around her, putting the blanket over both of them. "Seifer, I'll help you remember." Quistis closed her eyes and dreamed of that first night they were together.  
  
In the same room, quietly watching in the distance, Terris held evil eyes on Quistis, her mind full of evil thoughts, wanting and lusting for the man they both love. She smiled and remembered what she could do to manipulate Calik's mind so he could love her instead of that woman with child.   
  
"You will never get him!" Terris whispered a growl.  
  
  
  
  
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Calik was dreaming.  
  
He was dreaming that he was in someone's room. A large room and inside was a woman, her back to him as he stood watching her. She turned towards him, her face covered in the darkness of the night.  
  
"Who..? Who are you?"  
  
The woman smiled, wrapping her naked self with a blanket. "I'm the woman that you love."  
  
He approached her slowly. "The woman that I love? Do I know you?"  
  
"Of course you do," she replied. "My future is with you." She moved closer to the light, revealing her true self to him.   
  
Calik backed away for a moment, hoping his eyes were deceiving him. Terris sat on the bed, standing up and approaching him. Her eyes were a deep burgundy, almost red in his eyes and her hair was chancing into a deep red, almost matching someone's blood. "Terris?!'  
  
"I was going to take it easy on you, but I guess I have no choice. My mother did not know how to handle anything from the moment she gave birth to me!" Terris spoke. "She would not let me do whatever I wanted and now...thanks to you and your dead friend, I can finally HAVE what I want. But first..." Calik watched as Terris clicked her fingers together. Quistis appeared right in front of her and before he could react, Terris' already large arms laced around her, chocking her.   
  
"Wait! What are you doing to her?!"  
  
"However, there is one flaw of my mother's death! She would have stopped this woman from following you, would have killed her before she could get to you, even before she died in your sword!" Terris held her arms tighter around Quistis' neck. "She dies here!"  
  
"NO!" Calik yelled, running towards them. Quistis was coughing, her life withering away in the arms of the woman who resented her, the woman who loved him most of the all. Why this now? Why does everything have to happen to him?  
  
"Say good bye to her, Seifer Almasy!" Terris yelled, before the world around Calik became darker and foggier. Calik looked around. He was Seifer? She called him Seifer. Was the real Seifer that Quistis was calling for?   
  
"You (cough) are (cough) Seifer! (cough)." Quistis collapsed on the floor, unconscious. Calik closed his eyes. He was Seifer! He remembers now! Seifer Almasy. A knight in King Irvine's court...his friend...and a Queen... Irvine's wife...his lover... Seifer's lover... He could see visions of him making love to the Queen...a blond woman with the familiar face of Quistis. He was the one who betrayed the King. His best friend...   
  
"QUISTIS!" Seifer yelled to the heavens, praying to God that she was going to survive this. Seifer ran to her, reached out to her, but Quistis was disappearing fast from his dream. Quistis reached out to him as well, smiling... why was she smiling? Why was she smiling while she was dying?  
  
As if she heard him, Quistis opened her mouth to speak. "I am happy, Seifer, that you know who you are. All this time, I believe that you were alive. No one believed me, but my heart alone did and I knew that if I kept my love burning for you, our flames of passion will never die." With that said, Quistis disappeared from his sight. Seifer ran faster, but it was too late...she was already gone.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
  
  
She opened her eyes quickly, sitting up from bed. She looked around. She heard something... a scream... someone screaming out her Queen's name! "Quistis!" Selphie yelled, getting up from bed.   
  
Nadia rubbed her eyes and looked up just in time to see Selphie running out of the tent and towards the tent where Calik was staying. "Big sister?" she called.  
  
Selphie ran as fast as she could towards the tent. The woolly door flew open as she burst in, seeing Seifer holding Quistis in his arms. "Your highness!" she yelled.   
  
Seifer looked up with tears in his eyes. "Quistis... she... My Queen!" He buried his face to her chest and wept. What has he done? All this time she has been searching for him and all he has ever done were forget who he was! He did not try hard enough to remember who he was. He was too happy on where he was, instead of finding out the real truth about himself... about Seifer Almasy.   
  
Selphie ran to the other side of her Queen and placed a hand on her upward palm to feel a pulse. Nothing. Fearfully, she looked up at Seifer. "What did you do to her?"  
  
The blond shook his head, cradling Quistis' head in his arms. "I did nothing. And I am sorry for that. I did nothing to save her."  
  
Selphie wanted to yell at him for being stupid, for being an ignorant fool all this time, however, as she looked into Seifer's weeping eyes, she could not help but feel pity for this man. Nero had explained to her before that Seifer had lost all his memory and when his daughter found him in the woods, they immediately accepted him as their own. She wanted to accept his excuse for not coming back to the castle to be with Quistis and their child, but she was too angry with herself for believing that he was dead, while she crushed all of Quistis' hopes that he was alive. "You should not apologize. This is not your fault."  
  
"You are right..." a voice came from out of nowhere. Selphie stood up and turned around to find Terris standing there, with a menacing look.   
  
"Terris! What is going on?!"  
  
"You witch! What have you done to her!" Selphie glanced at Seifer, whose eyes were also holding a menacing look. He placed Quistis on his bed and turned around to face Terris. "You do not deserve to live after what you have done to her! You did this to me! You made me forget who I am!"  
  
"I see...I guess my spell was not as strong as I hoped it would be. I could have used you for something far more greater, but since you know who you are, I guess I have no choice but to kill you..." Seifer took a step, but Terris' growling voice stopped him. "If you come nearer, I will have your son's head!" From behind her back, she was holding Russell by the neck. The baby cried as loud as it could, opening its mouth to show everyone he meant business that he was in pain. "I can easily snap this child's neck!"  
  
Seifer's eyes glowed. He glanced behind him. Quistis was moving, he could tell by the way her chest was moving up and down. Thank goodness she was alive, he thought. He turned his attention back on Terris. "This is too small of a place for you and I to do battle."  
  
Terris smirked. "Hmph! Well, I guess outside would not be a bad idea. My father will see how much I have grown!"  
  
Before Seifer could move outside, Terris had transported them outside quicker than lightning. They were standing in the middle of the village. The villagers stood outside their homes, wondering what all the commotion was about. They must have heard his scream.   
  
"Hah hah! Seifer, do you remember the time you got lost in the woods, wondering why you ever got lost in the woods so quickly?" Terris asked. "It was because I did all that to confuse you so you could come to me! I admire you, Seifer. I admire your skills and your charisma to help people. We need people like you here in the village."  
  
"So you forced me here, pretending to be someone you are not?!" Seifer yelled, clenching his fists at his sides. "You killed people, sacrificed Zell's life, ruined Selphie's and almost killed Quistis!"  
  
Almost? Terris thought. She glanced behind Seifer and swore in her head. She was supposed to be dead!   
  
"Not anymore, Terris!" a voice growled in the distance. Terris turned and noticed her father coming, with a long staff in his hand. "This deceit is over for you, my dear daughter!" He used his magic to take the baby from Terris' arms and handed him to Selphie, who was watching in fear for him.  
  
Terris gritted her teeth together. "Shut up! I am NOT your daughter! I know all about YOUR own lies! My mother gave me to you so she could go lay with mortal men!"  
  
Nero sighed and nodded. "That is true. I am not your real father, but Terris, this has to stop. What your mother did should not lay on your hands. I know you did not want to hurt those people. You were made into believing you should because your mother raised you this way. You are not a bad witch, Terris."  
  
"SHUT UP! I'll kill you first!" Terris' eyes glowed a bright green and she raised her arms high in the air, chanting some unusual words. Her short blond hair had grown much longer than it usually was and had not changed into the reddish color; the same color Seifer saw the last time Squall died. Red? A witch?   
  
His mother once read him the legend of a witch with fiery red mane that possessed people's bodies. This witch had fallen in love with a mortal, which she was not suppose to and gave birth to his child. The council of witches found out about this deceit and banished her forever. She blamed the man for making her fall in love with him and went insane, killing innocent people and possessing bodies and then ruling over their homes as if they were her own. The witch hated the world of mortals so she possessed a King one day and made them quarrel with other kingdoms, thus, the war began... Seifer never thought it could come true at first. When he was a child, he believed it and as he grew, he stopped believing and now... he is beginning to see.   
  
Bright, glowing aura surrounded Terris' body. The villagers gasped and screamed at the sight of her. She had ranged from five feet tall to seven foot six, a height unusual for a woman and her arms and legs were taller and thicker with muscles. "Behold the sight of my true self! I am the daughter of higher beings, destined to destroy mortals who have destroyed them! DIE!" A ball of red flame appeared in the palm of her hands and before Nero could react, she fired towards him, giving out a force so large that many were horrified at the amount of pressure towards the village. Seifer drew his sword and quickly ran for Nero's aid. With one quick strike and power, he reflected the power back towards Terris.   
  
"NO!" Terris yelled. She cast reflect on herself, however it was too late, the fire hit her, burned her all over her body. Terris yelled and screamed from the pain. Nero, Seifer and Selphie watched, wide eyed. Terris died quickly and the battle ended.   
  
Nero sighed, tears falling from his eyes. "For a long time, I did not know that my daughter felt saddened by her mother's lose. I was not aware of her growing powers. I believed that it would not happen to her and if I knew, I would have warned the six kingdoms but..." He felt a hand on his shoulder. Nero looked up and frowned.  
  
"It was also our duty ourselves to protect our own kingdom and each other. We cannot blame others for what others have done. It is all over now. Terris can now rest in peace to what anger still lies in her heart," Seifer spoke. "She can join her mother to wherever she may be."  
  
Nero nodded. "But, I could have done must better to be a better father to her."  
  
"You did all you could do. You can slowly redeem yourself by rebuilding this village to its original state and help me rebuild Balbadia and all the other kingdoms. But for now, you must rest. It seems you have not slept in centuries."  
  
Nero looked up. "Thank you very much, Seifer," he whispered.  
  
Seifer nodded. "No...thank you. Thank you for helping me regain my memories."  
  
"Seifer?" Both men looked up and noticed Quistis walking out of the tent, rubbing her eyes as if awaken from a dream.   
  
Seifer glanced back at Nero. "Thank you for saving her as well."  
  
Nero smiled. "You are welcome, my son." He patted Seifer on the shoulders and turned around to tend to the victims that almost fell to the attack on him.   
  
"Seifer..." Quistis looked at him, unsure whether he had his memories back and frowned.  
  
"What is it, Quistis?" Seifer approached her, catching her as she almost fell. Quistis looked up, squinting to see if he remembered now of who he was and when she was sure, tears fell from her eyes.   
  
"Seifer!" She wrapped her arms around him and wept, burying her face in his chest. "I knew you would come back to me!"  
  
"I promised, did I not?"   
  
"Quistis... Seifer..." Both blondes looked up and saw Selphie walking up to them with Russell in her arms. She handed the baby to Quistis and stood back, watching as Quistis and Seifer held the baby close together. "You are now a family..." she whispered.  
  
Seifer gently pinched Russell's cheeks, making the baby and Quistis smile. Selphie smiled as well, remembering all the happy memories being with Zell. It was all over now, she thought. It is all over now, Zell. Your warnings saved this family and myself. I promise to take care of our child. I promise to take care of Mira and Nadia and I promise to always cherish you in my heart.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Heh, ^_^; I got lazy at the end, but I'm just glad its over! See ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanx for all the reviews!!!!!!!! 


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